Darry's Girl
by glitterXblood
Summary: Ask anyone, and they would tell you who the high school sweethearts were in Tulsa. But now, two years later, dreams of college quads and quaint apartment have been tossed aside. Relationships will be tested as they pretend to be the adults they aren't ready to be quite yet. Can what they had in high school survive the rougher side of Tulsa and greaser life?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N I own anything you don't recognize, everything else belongs to S.E. Hinton.**

Saturday night. I take a minute outside of the Curtis's house to prep myself for what will be happening on the inside. The shouting, the running, the music. It will be a long night, I decide, after hearing a smash followed a loud curse. I enter the house to see exactly what I expected: Soda, Steve and Two-Bit elbowing each other out of the way of the one small bathroom mirror; Dallas looking vaguely amused, leaning against the doorway of kitchen; and Darry, well, being Darry. He was standing in the kitchen doing dishes, but I could see he was muttering to himself, most likely something about wanting some peace and quiet for once.

"Catie, good, which shirt should I wear?" Soda asks, coming out of the bathroom shirtless, holding up two shirts, one blue plaid and the other red plaid.

"Go with the red one, brings out your summer tan," I tell him.

"Thanks, Catie cat," Soda says, loping out of the room.

"Catie, come here," Steve yells from the bathroom.

"Yeah?" I ask, going to the door.

"How does my hair look, do you think Evie will like it?" Steve asks, turning his head this way and that.

"Steve, she has liked your hair for the past year, she is going to like it tonight."

"If you say so. SODA, hurry up, we're gonna be late," Steve says, heading towards the front door. Soda barrels out of his room with one shoe on his foot and the other in his hand.

"I'm gonna head out as well, see where I can bum me a six pack," Two-Bit adds, heading out the front door and down the street. With those three gone, Darry takes to the bathroom and I hear the shower start up.

"'Scuse me," I say to Dally who is blocking the doorway of the kitchen.

"No." Dally smirks.

"Dally, seriously move," I say, trying to push past him. He grabs me and turns us around so my back is against the wall with him trapping me there.

"Is this a new shirt?" he asks, grabbing the hem of my shirt and rubbing it between his fingers, "I like the way it looks on you, but I bet you would look even better without it."

"Dal, get off of me," I say, pushing him away, but instead he just moves closer.

"Come on, Catie," he whispers, "You've been single for almost two year, you need someone to help you remember."

"Dally, stop it," I say, attempting to sound forceful but it came out sounding whispy and weak. The door slams, distracting Dallas and I take that moment to duck under his arm and run into the kitchen. I lean against the sink trying not to be sick; it's just Dal being Dal, I tell myself. A small part of me tells me it's not right but the larger part of my mind ignores that. Staring out of the kitchen window, I think back to the first time I met Dallas Winston. It was the summer between freshman and sophomore year. I was walking past the Dingo, alone, and he grabbed me and pulled me into a side alley. He started getting handsy grabbing at my face and chest. The he was pulled off of me by a larger guy who started shouting at him. Darry. I had already had a crush on Darry but this solidified that crush. He saved me. Or at least he thought he did. Ever since then, Dally had been determined to get me, and never failing to remind me of the one time he nearly succeeded.

"Cat, earth to Catie," Darry says, standing next to me and freeing me from my thoughts. "You don't look so good."

"I'm fine, just thinking," I say, looking up at him, "Where is everyone?"

"They left. It's just the two of us," Darry says cracking a smile. It was the first time I'd seen him smile all week and I found myself smiling with him.

"Hmm, just the two of us you say... in this big empty house... what ever are we to do?" I ask playfully, already knowing his answer.

"Well, we could start with dinner…" Darry trails off, playing with a strand of my hair.

"Hmm, spaghetti for two?" I ask.

"That sounds amazing," Darry agrees.

"You start the water, I'll find stuff for a salad," I say, pulling away and going to the fridge.

"Such a tease," Darry mutters. We talk about things like work and the football scores until dinner is ready.

"Can I ask you a question?" Darry asks once we are sat down at the table.

"You just did," I point out.

"Seriously Catherine."

"Okay, I'm ready."

"Why did you break up with me? Why did you end all of this?" Darry asks, sounding more sad than angry.

"Darry, you know this," I sigh, putting down my fork.

"Just tell me," he pleads.

"Alright," I concede, "Everything had just happened, social services determined that you could keep your brothers. You were struggling to find work. And during all of that you were continually worried about me and coming up with dates and you shouldn't have. You didn't need to be worrying about me on top of everything else."

"But why didn't you leave?" Darry asks. I reach across the table and grab his hand.

"Darry you are my best friend. And just because we are not dating that does not mean I ever stopped loving you."

"Thank you," Darry says, squeezing my hand.

"Anytime," I tell him, and I know in my heart that I honestly truly mean it. The rest of dinner passes with us talking about everything under the sun.

"You dry and I'll wash?" I ask, taking my plate and his to the sink.

"As you wish," Darry smirks. I flick some dish water at him and he retaliates by swatting at me with the dish towel.

"Didn't you once tell the boys no rough housing in the kitchen?" I tease.

"I do believe I did," Darry says. He picks me up bridal style and carries me to the couch in the living room. "But I never said anything about the living room."

I sit up, capturing his lips in mine and wrapping my arms around his shoulders. He deepens the kiss, moving one hand through my hair while the other rest on my hip.

"Darry," I breathe.

"Yeah?"

"I missed this," I tell him, reaching up to play with his hair.

"I know," Darry says, continuing the previous kiss. A slam followed by a car peeling down the street halts our previous activity.

"What was that?" I ask, sitting up.

"Looks like Two-Bit's car," Darry says, looking out the window while pulling on his shirt.

"You think he will tell?" I ask.

"I doubt it, Two-Bit's good about stuff like this, knows when to stay quiet," Darry assures me, pulling me to him.

"James Bond?" Darry asks after flipping through TV channels for a while.

"Sounds good to me," I agree, laying down with my head in his lap. Darry's hands instantly go into my hair, twisting and combing with his fingers. His fingers are like magic putting me to sleep.

Shouting. Darry's yelling at somebody, I think as I relax further into the bed. Soda and Pony are yelling too, I think lazily. Shoot. If all three of them are yelling they must be fighting. I open my eyes and quickly recognize I'm in Darry's room. I consider letting them settle it by themselves and stay in the comforts of the bed, but a slam makes me get up and head for the door. As I get closer to the main room the slamming of the front door echos through the house. I run the last few steps into the livingroom. Darry takes two steps towards the front door before turning on his heel and walking out the back door. Soda shakes his head, collapsing down onto the couch. I decide to tackle the easier of the two brothers.

"Soda?" I ask quietly, walking up to him. "What happened?"

"I, uh, well," Soda stutters, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Just start from the beginning," I say, rubbing his arm comfortingly.

"I got home, Pony wasn't home yet. Dar was starting to worry. I told him not to and crashed on the couch. I wake up at like 2AM and Pony had just got in. Pony and Dar started shoutin' and then Darry hit him and Pony ran."

"Oh," is all I can manage to say.

"Listen, Catie, you don't have to get involved in this. I can handle Darry and when Pony gets back in the morning I'll talk to him too. And-" Sod rambles.

"Soda, stop it. This is a bit bigger than their normal fights. You and I both know this. I'm going to go see what I can do with Darry and you get some rest, because you and I both know tomorrow will be rough."

"Fine," Soda huffs. He gets up and shuffles towards the bedrooms at the back of the house. I wait until I hear the click of his door closing before getting up and heading into the kitchen. Staring out the window, I could make out the outline of Darry sitting against the one oak tree in the yard. The first time I saw Darry in this position it was pouring rain and he had just lost the playoff game with the football team. The last time he did this, it was when Soda dropped out of school. I walk across the porch and backyard, sitting down in the grass next to him.

"I messed up, Catie, I messed up badly," Darry says. I wait, knowing given enough time Darry will tell all. "I didn't mean to, it was an accident and then he was gone before I could do anything else. And it's not easy; I shouldn't have to be yelling at him about curfew or his homework, and I shouldn't have to be worrying about paying bills or keeping them all fed. I should - we should be in college, together. It's not easy, and I just can't take it when he acts like I'm the bad guy. I'm trying my best to give him everything, and he acts like I'm hard on him because it's fun for me. It's not, I want to be able to joke around with him, but he has so much potential and he's like me and I can't have him not succeed, not with me failing."

Knowing no matter what I say, it won't convey everything I am trying to say, I grab Darry's hand with both of mine, letting him know I'm there. We stayed like that for lord knows how long, leaning on each other both physically and emotionally.

"Catherine," Darry says.

"Yeah?" I ask, shivering.

"You're freezing."

"I'm fine."

"Let's go inside."

"I'm fine, Dar, honestly," I repeat.

"Come on," Darry says, standing up and pulling me up along side him. We walk into the house hand in hand. I wait in the livingroom for Darry to return, and when he does he is carrying a heavy winter flannel that he wraps around my shoulders. I smile my thanks and Darry nods in response. Darry settles into his chair and sets his gaze at the door. I sigh, knowing he won't move again until someone comes through that door.

I wander into the kitchen, looking around for something to keep my mind and hands busy. I never understood how Darry could sit still, concentrating on one thing for endless periods of time. I open one of the cabinets, hoping to some sort of inspiration. I begin emptying out the cabinet and then the one next to it, and by the time the sun was seeping into the kitchen windows most of the objects in the kitchen had found their way onto the kitchen table and floor.

As the clock ticked past 9, the slam of the screen door, followed closely by the slam of Soda's bedroom door had me standing up and carefully stepping around spices and over pots to the doorway between the kitchen and living room. I was hoping it was Pony for Darry's sake, but a small part of me told me it wouldn't be.

"Was there some type of party here last night? Because all three of you look like shit," Two-Bit says, breaking the silence that had settled around the house like a suffocating blanket.

"Pony's gone," Soda says, and the blanket settles back around the house as everyone takes in the information.

"No way, I just saw him last night," Two-Bit argues, sitting down on the couch. Soda joins him and Darry reclaims his chair. They beginning tracing Pony's activities from last night and I return to the kitchen. I wasn't interested in hearing the whole thing for a third time. I move the last of the pots into their new cabinet next to the stove.

"How are they?" Steve asks in a low whisper, giving me a heartattack. I turn around and see him leaning against the fridge. I sigh and motion for him to take a seat at the kitchen table, which he does.

"I've never seen them like this," I say quietly, joining him at the table. Steve stares at me, waiting. "Soda was pretty torn up about what happened last night-"

"What did happen last night?" Steve asks.

"Pony came home late, really late. And I guess him and Darry started shouting and…" I trail off.

"And?"

"And Darry hit Pony, and Pony ran, and he hasn't been back." I finish.

"This is serious then?" I nod. "So then what happened?"

"I got Soda to tell me what happened, and he did the thing where he tried to be the hero." Steve nods, understanding flickering in his eyes. "And I told him to get some sleep, but I think he stayed up the whole night waiting."

"SOCS!" Darry bellows from the other room. Steve rushes into the living room and I follow at a slower pace.

"It was just a thought, we got into a bit of a tuffle last night, and they were pretty wasted," Two-bit says defensively.

"He might be with Johnny, that's where he said he was last night," Soda says.

"Has anyone seen Dally?" Steve asks. Everyone shakes their head. "Two and I will head down to Buck's, and see if we can rouse him," Steve determines, dragging Two-Bit out the door with him. I look at the two brothers in front of me, they swear they look nothing alike, but today they shared the same look of desperation in their eyes.

"Both of you go get cleaned up and dressed for the day," I say, daring either of them to argue. They listen and make their way down the hallway. I grin slightly turning into the kitchen. I grab eggs from the fridge, frowning at how empty the carton was. There were enough for breakfast, but I definitely need to go grocery shopping.

"Tulsa City Police Department, open up!" I hurry to the door and open it up for the three police officers behind it.

"Good morning officers," I say, standing between them and the house. I recognize two of them from my neighborhood. One was the father of the twins I used to babysit when I was in school, the other was one of my dad's poker buddies.

"We are looking for Ponyboy Curtis, is he here?" Officer Bushe asks, sending a glare my way. He was friends with me dad so I know my dad's view on me were shared by him.

"I'm afraid not, sir," I answer in the most respectful tone I can manage.

"We are going to need to search the premise, so if you don't mind?" Officer Bushe says pushing past me. The other officers follows just a roughly. I sit on the couch waiting for them to finish searching all of the rooms. It didn't take too long before I was sitting on the couch with Soda on one side and Darry on the other.

"When was the last time you saw Ponyboy?" Officer Bushe asks, glaring at the three of us. I shrink further into the couch avoiding eye contact.

"Around 2 in the morning sir," Darry answers.

"And are you aware that at approximately 2:30 AM, Ponyboy and Johnny Cade murdered Robert Sheldon in the local park?" Officer Bushe deadpans.

"What are you saying mister?" Soda asks. I close my eyes, trying to fight off the sickness that was rushing through me. I knew him. I knew Bob, I was the nanny for his three younger siblings. I even tutored him last school year in algebra two. My legs carry me into the bathroom and find myself throwing up into the toilet. I thought about Paulie and Maria and Tony, all without an older brother, and Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon without their son. I couldn't imagine losing any of the boys. I lean against the sink and rinse my mouth out with water a few times. In the hallway I met by Officer McGraw.

"Sorry," I mumble, looking at the ground, trying to move past him.

"Catherin, are you alright? It looked as if you knew Mr. Sheldon," Officer McGraw says, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"I didn't know him well, but I look after his siblings: tutored the older ones and care for the youngest," I tell him.

"Would you mind coming down to the station with us?" Officer Bushe asks. I look up to see everyone is crowded into the hallway. Darry gives me a slight nod.

"No, I wouldn't mind," I tell them. McGraw and the other officer usher me out of the house before I can say anything else, leading me into the cop car. Officer Bushe comes out of the house a few minutes later, looking madder than before. We drive past the park and there is yellow caution tape surrounding the fountain. The houses begin to change from rundown to modest, indicating that we were getting close to the station. Once we get there, Officer McGraw guides me up the stairs and through the doors. Inside the police station, there were desks piled high with paper and nearly every seat was taken by someone, or something. Next to the one empty chair was Dallas, slouching with his hands cuffed. I look around for any other seat before giving up and sitting next to him.

"Well look at that, Catie Keegan, in the flesh." Dally smirks. I ignore him, staring straight ahead. "C'mon Catie, don't ignore me. What are you doin' down here? Isn't to visit me, is it, sweetheart? No, let me think, what have you done recently? Oh man, I hope this isn't because of the DRUGS YOU'VE BEEN DEALING!" Dally shouts. The six or seven cops that were milling around were standing in front of us in less than a minute, shouting things at Dally. Two cops nearly lift him up dragging him down the hall. The remaining cops block out most of my view of him, but I see Dally get slammed into a wall before they are out of view.

"Sorry about that," one of the cops in front of me says, offering his hand, "I'm one of the officers working this case. I was wondering if you wouldn't mind answering a few questions?"

"No not at all," I say as he takes the seat next to me.

"Can you start by telling me how you knew Robert?"

"I work for his family, I look over the younger children. I saw him around the house sometimes when his parents asked me to stay late to help out."

"And how long have you been working for the Sheldons?"

"A little over two years, I started after I graduated high school." I answer.

"How would you describe Robert?"

"He was a great brother. Whenever he was home, he was always helping his siblings out. They all looked up to him," I answer honestly.

"Do you know if there was any hostility between the boys and Robert?"

"No, not that I was aware of." The officer nods, and then walks away. I sigh. I watch officers come and go, sometimes escorting people with them, sometimes not. A cop brings in a socs and puts him down in the chair next to me.

"Catherine?" The soc asks. I look over at him. It's Randy Anderson. He came around the Sheldon's house everyday with Bob right about the time I was leaving.

"Randy," I acknowledge.

"How they bring you in here?" Randy asks. As much as I wanted to blow him off, my mom raised me to be better than that.

"I was, um, at the Curtis' when the cops came by. They found out I worked for Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon and wanted to know if there was a connection."

"Right, you date the oldest one. Still don't see why you date below you Catherine. You wouldn't be sitting here right now if you dated one of your own kind."

"No, we wouldn't be sitting here right now if you realized we are all the same and stopped picking on greasers. And for the record we are not dating.

"Catherine," a different officers says approaching us.

"Yes?" I ask politely.

"You are free to go right now. However we would like to know where you will be incase we need to talk with you again."

"Oh, right. I will probably be either at the Curtis's house, or with the Sheldon," I say. The cop gives me a funny look and I know it's because I didn't say I would be home.

"Okay. Have a good day," he says before turning to question Randy. I make my way out of the police station and to the payphone down the street. I drop in a dime and dial.

"Hello," Soda answers.

"Soda, it's me. Do you think you could have Steve or Two come pick me up at the police station?" I ask.

"Is everything alright Catie? Darry thought for sure they were going to arrest you," Soda says. I can hear Darry grumbling so I guess that they are both standing next to the phone.

"No, they just wanted to know why I got so upset. Can you please send someone to pick me up?" I ask again.

"No problem, Steve's already on his way," Soda replies.

"Thank you," I say before hanging up. I lean against the phone waiting for Steve's car to peel around the corner. God, I hated the way they all drove. Darry realized how upset I got by there driving after one of our first dates and made an effort to drive less recklessly. Or at least when I was in the car with him. Steve pulls up and I get into his car.

"Are you guys still looking for Dallas?" I ask.

"Yeah, we couldn't find him anywhere," Steve shrugs.

"I bet not. The cops already hauled him in."

"What for?"

"I'm not sure, but it probably has to do with the murder," I watch as Steve tenses up at the mention of murder. This was more serious than any of us had dealt with in a while. For most of the gang it was the most serious thing to ever happen. Not me and Darry. It was probably middle school when it happened, but a high schooler was found hanging from the goalpost on the football field. Some said he hung himself because his girlfriend broke up with him. Others said that he did it because he failed a physics test. Yet even more say it was because he was queer and his dad found out. No matter what people said, everyone knew that he was the reason that when we came back to school the next year there was a brand new football field, goal post and all. It didn't stop Darry from trying out for the football team, and it didn't stop me from trying out for cheerleading either.

Steve and I walk into the house and it is quiet. I glance at the clock in the kitchen and notice that it is almost one o'clock. Soda is sitting on the couch next to Two, and Darry is nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Darry?" I ask.

"He went into his room after you called and hasn't been out since," Soda says. He sounds different and I know it's because he's hurting. I start making my way down the hallway when Soda stops me by grabbing my arm. "Just give him some time."

"Alright," I agree slowly. I look at Soda closer now, and I can tell he is on the edge of falling asleep. "Soda honey, you should go get some sleep," I say, pushing him towards his room. I return to the living room once I was positive that Soda was going to sleep.

"Gosh Catie, what would we do without you," Two-bit mocks.

"Shhhs, they're sleeping."

"Two-bit, why don't we go out and see if we can find Pony," Steve says standing up. I send him a look of gratitude. Two-bit and Steve leave and the house returns to its unnatural quiet. I grab a piece of paper from the coffee table and start drafting a grocery list. Once finished I leave it on the table and go to check on the boys. Soda is dead asleep, still in his clothes from last night. I open Darry's door and find him awake, staring at the ceiling.

"Darry," I ask, moving to sit next to him on the bed. He doesn't say anything, but moves over on the bed. I lay down next to him, using his chest as a pillow. "You should try to get some rest," I tell him.

"You should too. Gosh Catie, you've been up as long as I have," Darry sighs.

"I know."

"What about Pony?"

"Steve and Two are out looking again right now. And if anyone comes in, or if the phone rings, I'm a light enough sleeper."

"What about Soda?"

"He's dead asleep. Dar, please, it will only be worse if you don't sleep," I plead.

"Only if you do to," Darry agrees, wrapping his arm around me. I match my breathing to his and let his steady heartbeat lull me to sleep.

 **A/N and there we go. I wanted to give Darry a chance to have something nice. Let me know what you think. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N thank you to everyone who left reviews last chapter. I tried to write this quickly, which was a lot easier because I'm on spring break right now. Any who, hope you enjoy this chapter. As always, anything you recognize, I don't own.**

Darry's alarm wakes me up in the morning. I get up and realize two things very quickly. One that it was a Monday, and two one of us would have to go to work. I turn the alarm off and leave Darry sleeping. I check in with Soda and he is also sleeping. I shower and get dressed quickly. I leave a note on the kitchen table next to my grocery list letting Darry know I was going to work, and I might be home late. I grab my bag from behind the couch, where they kept all of their bags and shoes, and made my way down the street. It's about a ten minute walk to the bus stop, but I didn't mind it too much. It's still nice out, but you could tell winter is coming by the new crispness in the air. The bus showed up exactly at 5:50 and I made my way to a seat. The bus was mostly empty, student's didn't start getting on the city buses until later in the morning. I look out the window, watching the houses flash by. I get off on the opposite side of town. It takes me about thirty minutes to walk the rest of the way to the Sheldon's house.

I pause at the front door. Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon had given me a key and told me I could just let myself in whenever, but today felt different so instead I ring the doorbell. It reminds me of when I interviewed for the job nearly two years ago. It was at the end of January and there was a cold rain coming down in sheets.

I expect Mrs. Sheldon to open the door, but it's Mr. Sheldon. He waves me in silently, and I follow him to the back of the house. Mrs. Sheldon is sitting at the kitchen table with papers and tissues surrounding her.

"We didn't think you would show up," Mr. Sheldon says sitting down next to his wife. I join them at the table.

"Why wouldn't I? If anything now is the proper time for me to be here. I think I can be a lot of help," I say carefully. Mrs. Sheldon starts to cry harder.

"And why would you think that?" Mr. Sheldon snaps.

"I'm not sure how aware you are of my personal life, as it has never been something we have discussed," I start slowly, trying to keep the ice out of my words. "When I graduated high school, my boyfriend and I both had scholarships to go to Oklahoma University. Less than a month after graduation, his parents died. He dropped his scholarship to fight for the custody of his younger brothers. All summer he worked to keep his family, and I helped him, and his brothers stay grounded. At the end the summer, when most kids our age were heading off to college he was looking for a job. I went to OU for a week before dropping out. Everyday I would take care of the house and his younger brothers while he worked two, sometimes three, jobs even though we had broken up when I went off to OU. Every night I would sit up with the two younger brothers as they had nightmares about their parents death. Once they were able to sleep through the night, I started looking for a job. I don't know if you would call me qualified, sir, but I have plenty experience in this," I finish, wiping away a stray tear. I had to stop often while telling them to control my emotions.

It still hurt to talk about Mr. and Mrs. Curtis. Mr. Curtis was a better version of my own father and a near copy of Darry. Mrs. Curtis, however, taught me everything she thought I would need to know. Even though they were young parents, and living in not the best neighborhood, Mrs. Curtis still believed in being the best housewife. She believed that Darry and I would get married one day, and for a while I believed that too. I never realized how much she taught me until Pony was complaining about his stomach hurting and Soda had oil coating all of his clothes and I knew I could help them. By the one year anniversary of their deaths, some people around the neighborhood were saying that they couldn't even tell they were gone because Darry and I made such good replicas of them. I didn't like it when they would say things like that. I knew I could never be as great at Mrs. Curtis.

"I never knew," Mrs. Sheldon cries, walking around the table and wrapping her arms around me, "You poor child."

"It hasn't been an easy two years," I agree.

"Momma," Maria says walking into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes. Mrs. Sheldon starts sobbing. I sigh and get up to go over to Maria. The Sheldon's weren't the best parents by any standard. They would go away often without letting anyone know. There would be some nights where I would stay over because they were missing in action. Sometimes I worry about Tony and Maria. They were both so young, and they barely saw their parents. Tony was the worst off. I started working for them just as he was born, and I think he saw more of me than he saw of his mother. It was sad, but it was also common in both Soc and greaser neighborhoods. Soc parents were away often doing lord knows what and some greaser parents would leave their children as soon as they could fend for themselves. That never would happen in the neighborhood I grew up in. Mom's would work as secretaries or teachers until they had their first kid, and then they stayed at home, having more kids and raising the family. I remember my mom taking me to the neighborhood park with other kids my age everyday and all of the moms would sit on a blanket and watch.

"Hi Maria," I say picking her up. Maria wraps her legs around my hips and rest her head on my shoulder. I walk upstairs with her and bring her to her room. I set her down on her bed and sit down next to her. "Maria, what's wrong?" I ask.

"I want my brother back," Maria says. "Kitty, can you brwing back my brother?" I smile slightly at the nick name. The gang would never let me live it down if they knew.

"I'm sorry honey, I can't," I say sadly, holding her in a hug. Maria starts crying and doesn't stop. I hold her until she falls asleep, and then lay her down in her bed. I make my way down the hall to where I know Tony and Paulie are. I look in on Tony, and he is asleep in his cot. He will never know he had an older brother besides Paulie. I move his favorite toy, a stuffed pig that Bob gave him, closer to mother hated that toy, she thought it was disgusting for Tony to be sleeping with a stuffed pig, but Bob found it hilarious. I leave the door ajar and continue down the hall. I open the door to Paulie's room to see Paulie climbing in his window. I sit down on his bed and wait for him the start talking. When he doesn't, I start the conversation.

"I'm not mad, I just want to know where you went," I start.

"Why do you even care?!" Paulie shouts, "You're just a greaser slut!"

"Paulie," I warn, standing up.

"Do you know what they are saying?! Greasers killed my brother! Greaser you hang out with, that you live with! How do I know you didn't get your friends to kill him so you could get more money from my parent, huh? I bet you knew my brother was going to die!" Paulie screams at me. I take a step back, not expecting that from him. There had always been a rivalry between the social classes, but it normally didn't get heated until high school. Tulsa had four junior high schools that combined into Will Rogers, so you only saw the kids from your neighborhood in junior high.

"Paulie, I'm going to ask you again, where did you go last night?" I ask stepping closer to him. I can smell whiskey on him.

"Out," Paulie says stubbornly.

"With who?"

"Doesn't matter," Paulie shrugs.

"Yes it does," I insist, "I need to know who was giving a junior high kid alcohol."

"How did you know?"

"As you mentioned so kindly I live with greasers. I'm also seven years older than you, I know what whiskey smells like. So, who were you out with?" I ask again. Paulie moves across his room and sits down on the bed looking defeated. There were times that Paulie reminded me of Ponyboy because they were both so stubborn. Stop that, I tell myself, don't think about Pony right now.

"Uh, Randy Anderson and his friends," Paulie says uncertainly.

"High schoolers? That's rich, Paulie. Great idea. What were you thinking?"

"They said they would tell me what happened to Bob," Paulie says looking down.

"And did you like what they told you?" I ask.

"They said they were all jumped by greasers and one of them killed him," Paulie says quietly. I sit down next to him.

"And did you believe them?"

"I don't know, I've never heard of socs getting jumped before. And none of them looked hurt."

"You're probably right. I've never heard of a greaser jumping a soc," I lie. It happened plenty recently. It was one of Dally favorite pass times when he could get someone to go with him. "Paulie, what do you think is the difference between socs and greasers?"

"Money, I guess," he shrugs.

"Money makes socs better than greasers?" I ask, Paulie nods. "Does that mean you are better than your sister because you get a bigger allowance? Or Maria is more important than Tony because she gets an allowance and Tony doesn't?"

"No way! We are all family, we are equal. It doesn't matter!" Paulie insists. I smile slightly.

"Than wouldn't you agree that it doesn't matter if someone on the playground has less money than you. Or if someone got a bigger paycheck than your dad."

"Money shouldn't matter," Paulie states.

"Promise me you will always remember that, okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

"Thank you," I say, pulling him in for a hug. After a moment he hugs me back. Paulie's a good kid.

"Catie, can I ask you a question?" Paulie asks as I make my way to the door. I turn around and wait. "Do you know when they are going to have the funeral?"

"I don't know," I tell him honestly. "I'm sure it will be soon. And no matter when it happens you are going to have to be there for your sister, she doesn't really understand what's going on."

"Oh, okay," Paulie says, laying down on his bed. I sigh and leave the room. It was getting later in the day, but the kids deserved to have a sleep in. I make my way downstairs looking for Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon. I find Mr. Sheldon sitting in his office.

"Excuse me sir," I say standing at the doorway.

"I know who you boyfriend is," he says blankly.

"Excuse me," I say in shock. "I'm not dating anyone right now."

"From your story," he explains, "You used to date the eldest Curtis. A buddy of mine is the football coach and told me all about his star player who dropped everything to take care of his family. Sunday, after we heard what had happened to Robert, I called the number you gave me. A Curtis kid picked up. That evening the cops were telling me about how they have a lead on two suspects, one of them a Curtis. Do you care to explain this Catherine?"

"I'm sorry sir," I start out, "I gave you that number because I still live with Darry, the eldest Curtis. But we aren't dating. I'm not sure what happened between Bob and Ponyboy. I only found out Saturday morning when the cops came by. Please sir, I am speaking the truth. I have no idea what happened to Bob, or even if Pony was involved."

"You're putting me in a very difficult position Catherine. My children adore you. You are here everyday that we ask you to be, and yet it's your hoodlum friends that killed my son. What would you do if you were in my position? What would you do with my children?"

"I don't know sir," I tell him.

"Don't lie to me Catherine, you know my children better than myself or my wife. What would you do?" Mr. Sheldon demands, standing up and walking towards me.

"I would send Paulie to boarding school," I say truthfully, "He is a great kid, but he doesn't need to be in Tulsa. He shouldn't be in Tulsa right now, it would be to easy for him to get on the wrong track. Maria is still young, but she is going to need structure. I would keep her out of the Tulsa schools as well. Catholic school might be nice for her. You could get another nanny for Tony."

"Your suggesting that I fire you and send all of my kids away?"

"Well sir, you asked me what I would do. I truly do care about your kids, but I understand not wanting me to continue working. It puts you in a very difficult position."

"I agree with you. My wife is going to want you to be at the funeral tomorrow, but after that you're done," Mr. Sheldon says while going into his desk draw. "I'm going to follow your advice. I don't want anything to happen to Paul. I would like to thank you for everything you have done for my family, and I wish this wasn't what was sending you away from us. Some of my buddies are looking for a nanny, I'll mention their name to you, but take this in the meantime," he says handing me an envelope, "I'm truly sorry I have to let you go like this."

"Thank you sir, for everything," I say shaking his hand, "And I'm so sorry about everything that has happened."

"I think it is best that you leave now," Mr. Sheldon says before sitting down at his desk, opening a book. I nod and make my way to the front door. On the outside of the envelope is information about the funeral like when it was and where. I put the envelope in my bag and start walking down the street. I feel bad for the kids, but I understand where Mr. Sheldon was coming from. As I made my way out of the heavily soc neighborhood and into a more neutral part of town I noticed a beat up car trailing me. Great, just what I needed. I continue walking, praying the car would leave me alone.

"Hey Curtis! Get in," a voice yells from the car. I stop to get a look at the car. It wasn't unusual for someone to call me Curtis, but there was only a few greasers who would. I knew it wasn't anyone from the gang. I get a closer look and notice that it's Tim Shepard. Of course. Tim graduated from Will Rodgers the same year as Darry and I, or he would've if he didn't drop out. Whenever he would stop by the house he would joke that Darry and I were already married and just haven't told anyone, even thought Darry and I have told him we're not dating.

"Hey Tim," I say walking over to the car, but not getting in.

"Come on Curtis, get in, I'll drive you wherever you want to go," he says, smirking. I'm not really sure how Tim and I became friendly, it just happened one day. I wouldn't call us great friends, but I would trust him with anything.

"Nonstop to California?" I joke getting in.

"Sorry Curtis, this girl isn't going that far," Tim says patting the dashboard. "Now, why are you walking the streets of Tulsa all by yourself?"

"I just got fired from my job," I tell him, "I was on my way home."

"Who the fuck would fire you?"

"The Sheldons," I say. Tim looks over at me waiting for me to explain. "They're the parents of the kid Pony and Johnny killed. I was their nanny for their younger kids."

"Shit. That's rough. But you know what I say, fuck them. They're missing out on the best of the best."

"Aww, thanks tim."

"No problem Curtis. I've never seen anyone as good with kids as you are."

"Thanks for the ride," I say as Tim pulls up to the curb.

"Not a problem Catie, and if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask," Tim tells me before pulling away. I walk slowly up to the house slowly, taking my time. When I open the door, Darry is sitting in his dad's chair and no one else seems to be around.

"Where is everyone?" I ask while setting down my bag and removing my shoes.

"They are out looking again. I said I would stay here and see if anyone showed up," Darry says. He still sounds tired and I know he spent most of the night awake. "You're home early."

"Oh, yeah. Mr. Sheldon fired me."

"What, why?" Darry asks, jumping up.

"He said he didn't want someone taking care of his kids who lived with the guy who killed his son," I explain. Darry walks over to me and wraps his arms around me.

"I'm sorry Catie. Gosh, I didn't even think about how this could affect your are you going to do now?"

"We'll manage," I tell him, breaking out of his hug, but taking his hand in mine. "We always do."

Silence settles over the house. I know Darry is absorbed in his own thoughts. I have a feeling the house will be silent a lot until Ponyboy comes home. It reminds me a lot of the first week after Mr. and Mrs. Curtis died. Everyone was silent. This house isn't meant to be silent, you can tell by the way it is. When it's quiet you can hear the wind rustling the tree branches outside, or drips falling from the bathroom tap, it's unnatural.

"I have to go to the funeral tomorrow," I say after a while. We are still standing in the middle of the living room, holding hands.

"Why? I thought he let you go," Darry asks, worry and anger dashing across his features.

"I think he wants me to help with the kids, especially Maria." Darry knew how much I cared about these kids. Most nights I would come home with stories about what they had done that day.

"That's bullshit Catie. And you know that. He has no right firing you and then asking you to show up the next day!"

"I kind of want to go to," I say quietly, hoping Darry would see why. He doesn't. "I knew him Darry. I saw him nearly everyday. I wouldn't say we were friends, but it would feel wrong not to go."

"Have I ever told you you have too big of a heart?" Darry asks. I blush. "I swear Catie, you would bring home every stray if you could. I just wouldn't tell the guys where you were going if I were you, you dig?" I nod.

"We're going to Texas!" Two-bit shouts as he walks in the door. Darry and I separate instantly, him going towards Two, and I go to the kitchen. I open the cupboards and notice that someone when grocery shopping. I grin slightly, someone had listened to my note. As I go through the cupboards, fridge and freezer I realize that it was Two who went shopping. There was too much beer and cookies and not enough fresh fruits and vegetables. I sigh, it wasn't perfect but it would work for the week. I go to the doorway between the kitchen and the living room and lean against the frame listening to their conversation. Two was going off about how Dally let it slip that Johnny and Pony were going to Texas.

"I don't care what he said Soda, you aren't running off to Texas!" Darry shouts at Soda. Oh lord, this isn't good.

"What the Hell Darry! You don't even care about him! You don't care that our baby brother is out there somewhere running from the damn fuzz, and YOU DON'T CARE!" Soda shouts back before running out the front door. Steve hesitates before following him out.

"Just give him time," I tell Darry, walking over to him and placing my hand on his arm.

"Yeah, this isn't the first time you've had one of your brothers run out on yeah," Two-bit jokes. I send him a glare that has him slinking out the door.

"Dar?" I ask carefully, trying to get a gage on how he was doing.

"I'm going for a run," Darry says, going into his room to grab his sneakers. I sigh.

This was another one of Darry's habits. Whenever something didn't go his way, he would work out. Mr. Curtis would always tell me that when he got like this I just needed to let him go. That it was good for him to get energy out. I watch as Darry basically sprints out of the house. I collapsed onto to the couch taking in everything that has happened in the past few days. I was worried about Pony, of course, but I knew in my heart that he would be okay. I was scared for Johnny, I don't know if he knew exactly how big this situation was turning into. I was worried for Soda and the other guys too, they weren't taking the news well, but I was the most worried for Darry. I could tell he regretted everything, but he was also worried that the state would take away Pony and Soda from him. I knew he was even though he hasn't said it out loud. It takes a while for Darry to say what he is feeling, he wants to be a hundred and fifty percent positive before he said anything. I loved that about him. You could always believe anything he said because he meant it, he truly did.

"Where is everyone," Dally says making me jump slightly. My heart starting racing when I noticed we were all alone. I always get nervous when I was alone with Dally, I never knew what he was going to do.

"Out," I manage to say, trying to stay calm.

"And they left you here all by yourself?" Dally asks moving closer to me. He leans over me and i can smell the alcohol on his breathe. My heart quickens as he gets closer and closer.

"Dal-" I try to say but his lips crash onto mine. I try to push him away but he is much stronger than me. He pushes his tongue into my mouth and I feel as if I'm going to throw up as the taste of beer and smoke flood my mouth. His hands travel over my shirt, finding settling on my hips. He adventually pulls away smirking.

"Now you can't say you didn't like that," Dally says, moving in closer. I use all of my body to push away from him and I run into the bathroom, the only room in the house with a lock. I manage to lock the door before the tears start streaming down my face. Get it together, I tell myself, it's not that bad. It's just Dally. This is normal. I'm going to be okay.

I take my time wiping my face and brushing my teeth to to get the taste out of my mouth. I can still feel his hands on me, so I get in the shower, hoping it will help. I let the hot water run over my skin, rinsing way everything. By the time I get out of the shower the sun has set. I listen and I hear no one in the house, which makes me even more nervous. I wrap the towel around me tighter and quickly run into Darry's room. I put on some clothes to sleep in, a pair of Darry's old practice shorts and one of his t-shirts. I decide not to risk going out into the house, and instead lay down on the bed. After a while I hear Soda and Steve return to the house and turn on the tv. I allow myself to relax slightly, but not completely. I know I won't be able to completely relax until I knew Darry was home to protect me. I try to stay up, but sleep soon overtakes me.

 **A/N and there we go. Let me know what you're thinking. How do you feel about seeing this side of Darry? How do you like this Dally? Tell me what you love or hate :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N Hey y'all, its been a while but I promise this hasn't been forgotten, I've just had a lot going on. I want to give a special thanks to Prongs, my new beta, for jumping aboard my train of craziness. And as always the disclaimer is if you recognize it, it ain't mine.**

"Morning," Darry says, slipping out of the bed, his voice husky with sleep.

"Mmm, Morning," I reply, still partially asleep. I watch as Darry putters around the room, first doing push-ups, then sit-ups, tricep dips and pull ups, before finally stretching. He walks back over to the bed and presses a light kiss to my forehead. I recoil slightly, but I don't think he notices. Darry grabs his towel and walks across the hallway into the bathroom. I'm still shaken up over what happened last night. I woke up last night in a cold sweat and wasn't able to go back to sleep until Darry came into the room. Just knowing Darry was close by calmed me. He returns with his hair dripping and a towel slung around his waist.

"Come on, get moving slow poke," Darry teases, poking me in the side. I play along, grumbling slightly. I grab a towel from the back of the door and walk across the hall. Once in the bathroom, I remember that I showered last night, and it that would be a bit pointless to shower again. Trying not to remember _why_ , I instead take the time to curl my hair and pin it up applying a light layer of makeup afterwards. When I was in highschool, I use to get up early every morning to do my hair and makeup like my mother taught me. But for the past two years, I haven't found much time for things like that. I sigh at my reflection. With my hair curled, and makeup done, I look like a proper middle class girl. One that didn't drop out of college for her boyfriend, only to break up with him. One that doesn't take care of a house of teenage boys. Definitely not one that's gotten caught up in a murder.

I return to Darry's room, but he isn't there. I faintly hear him making coffee in the kitchen and reassure myself that he hasn't left. Darry started drinking coffee once he got two jobs, and he won't tell anyone but he hates it. He thinks it will help him stay awake more, but I think he's lying to himself there. I went to enough breakfasts at the Curtis's house when we were in highschool to know that Darry drank coffee just how his father had taken it, probably to feel closer to his dad.

I flick through the clothes on the right side of the closet, my side. I settle on a long sleeve black blouse with a boat neckline, and a slim black skirt that falls just below my knees. I set out a pair of short heels next to the bed, but I put off strapping them on for now.

I pad out in just my stockinged feet and join Darry in the kitchen. He's sipping away at a cup of hot coffee, but I opt to pour myself a glass of orange juice instead.

"I was thinking," Darry starts.

"Don't you think it's a bit early for that," I tease.

"What do you think about me dropping you off a bit early at the church?" Darry asks. I pause, waiting for him to explain himself. "It's just that tensions are high and I don't want to start off the morning bad between you and the guys."

"Oh, alright," I agree. It was a bit hurtful that Darry didn't trust me to be around the guys, but I can understand that none of them are at their best right now. I haven't seen much of Steve or Two, but I would bet anything that they are itching for a fight with the socs. "What were you going to do today?"

"I have to go down to the court and explain everything," Darry shrugs.

"Are you taking Soda with you?"

"I wasn't planning on it, he's taking it so hard. I don't want anything to slip out in front of the judge that could end up hurting Pony."

"Well, if he is still here when I get home, I'll try to get him up and moving. He is only hurting himself by moping like this."

"I don't know if I've said this already, but thank you Catie," Darry says setting down his coffee and stepping closer to me. "I have absolutely no idea how you have been so calm and level headed during all of this."

"You want to know how I do it?" I ask, taking a step closer so that Darry and I are practically touching. I look up at him and whisper, "I know that if anything ever happened to me, you would be there for me a hundred percent of the time."

"You're absolutely amazing," Darry says in awe.

"And you're even more amazing," I reply, stepping away to start making breakfast for Darry. A full plate of eggs with sausage and toast, and I set a piece of toast aside for myself. We eat in silence. Not unusual, but this particular silence seemed strangely large between the two of us.  
"Are you ready to go soon?" Darry asks when we finish, moving our empty plates to the sink.

"I think so, let me just go grab my things from our room," I say, walking out of the kitchen. I peek into Soda's room before heading on to my own. He's asleep, dead to the world. He needs sleep right now, he's been tearing himself up. I continue on to Darry's room, grab my handbag and strap on my heels. We meet back in his truck, but don't speak again until we are outside of the church.

"You're sure about this?" Darry asks.

"It would feel wrong not to," I answer, looking towards the church. There's one or two people milling around, but it is still very early to be arriving.

"Please be careful," Darry urges, grabbing my hand, "Mr. Sheldon had a problem with you, with us, and he's fully removed from from the things that happen on the streets. There are going to be people there who still go to Will Rogers, and you're gonna be alone."

"Dar, I doubt anyone is going to attack me at a funeral."

"I- just be careful, promise me that, I can't lose you."

"You're not going to lose me. And you are not going to lose Soda or Pony, everything is going to be okay, you'll see. Just be honest when you're talking to the social worker."

"Are you sure you will be able to find a ride home?"

"Yes, don't worry about it," I tell Darry as I slip out of the cab of the truck. Darry nods once sharply, before pulling away from the curb. I walk into the church to find Paulie sitting somberly in the first pew, Mr. Sheldon pacing up and down in front of the altar, the closed coffin already there. He's talking rapidly to the priest while balancing Maria on his hip, Mrs. Sheldon and Tony not there yet. I walk down the center aisle and up to Mr. Sheldon. Without speaking a word to me, he hands over Maria and continues on with his rant. I sit down next to Paul, balancing Maria on my knees. People begin filtering into the church, filling in the pews behind us. Nearly an hour after I arrive, Mrs. Sheldon sits down next to Paulie, with Tony in her lap, a handkerchief already clutched in her hand. Mr. Sheldon seems to reign himself in a bit, before sitting stiffly next to his wife as the service begins.

The funeral passes quicker than I expected. Then again, the last funeral I attended was for Mr. and Mrs. Curtis, and that seemed like an eternity. Mr. Sheldon speaks, along with the priest, Randy, and a Will Rodger teacher. As the service comes to a close, Mr. Sheldon takes Maria from me, and I realize that they're going to stand up as a family and receive the well wishers. Once they move to the front of the chapel, next to the casket, I make my way to the back of the church, waiting in case they need anything.

"Catherine?" I turn and see some of the guys Darry and I graduated with walking towards me. I recognize the one who spoke.

"Mark? What are you doing here? I thought you were in Kansas!" I exclaimed, meeting them halfway. Mark was wide receiver for Darry, and they were a deadly team when they took the field together.

"My dad was up watching our game against Alabama when we heard what happened to Bob, we came down as soon as possible. But why are you here?"

"I nanny for the Sheldons."

"Mark, did you hear that everyone is saying it was a Curtis kid who did it?" Kenny asks walking up to our group. He's another football player from Darry's team.

"Shit, Curtis, are you sure that's what you heard Kenny?" Mark asks.

"One hundred percent, not Darryl through, another one. Hey wait, Catie you still hang around with Darryl right?"

"Yes," I answer, not happy wear this conversation is heading.

"What happened then, is it true?" James, Kenny's twin brother questions. I pause, trying to find the right words.

"Hey, look it's the bitch who lives with the guy who killed Bob," Randy says joining our group, slurring slightly. Behind him are three more his and Bob's friends.

"Take in down man," Mark says, stepping between Randy and I, pushing him away slightly, "No reason to ever call a women that."

"Step aside Mark," one of the other guys says, "We just want to know why she showed up to this. She's probably spying on us for the grease she hangs around so they can pick which one of us to murder next."

"Just drop all of this grease, soc shit, it doesn't matter," Mark says, not moving.

"What does matter is that her kind put one of us six feet under," Randy says.

"Her kind?! What the hell are you talking about?!"

"Oh, so you don't know," Randy smirks, "That whore you're protecting, has been living with grease for the past two years, ever since you graduated. She's not who she was in highschool, now she's just a grease skank."

"Kitty!" Maria cries out, moving between the legs of Randy and his friends.

"Maria honey what's wrong?" I ask, kneeling down.

"Kitty, I'm scared. Everyone's crying and, and, and I can't find Bobby anywhere! Where is he?! I want him now!"

"Shhhs honey shhhs," I say, picking her up into my arms. She was sobbing now.

"I'm sorry Catie, I lost track of her, and she ran," Paul says sheepishly.

"It's okay, she's just confused, I'm going to take her outside to calm her down," I tell Paul. I move past Mark and Randy, giving them both a glare over the top of Maria's head. I carry Maria outside of the church and walk back and forth, hushing her to sleep. Eventually she falls asleep and I take a seat on the stairs of the church.

"Catie?" Mark asks, sitting down next to me. "I hate to ask it but is it true? What they were saying?"

"That I haved lived with Darry for two years? Yes. That it was Ponyboy, his youngest brother and his friend Johnny Cade that killed Bob? Yes. That I'm a greaser? I don't know, I guess technically since my dad kicked me out of the house."

"Shoot, Catie, I had no idea."

"How would you, you have barely been back to Tulsa since graduation."

"I should have come back, we are a team, on or off the field, we look out for eachother."

"Mark, it's okay, I don't even know what most of the girls from the squad are up to these days, and that was only fifteen girls, no one can expect you to keep track of the entire football team, much less look out for them."

"I have no idea what has been going on with you or Darry or Kenny or James or Baby or anyone!"

"Has something been going on with Kenny and James, or Baby?" I ask worried. The way Mark was talking had me thinking something big and disastrous had happened to all of us. I guess some might say what happened to Darry, and subsequently myself, was tragic and unfair, but I didn't think of it like that, I don't think Darry did either. The last I heard was that Kenny and James were still playing ball for some school in Texas, and Baby, also known as Melanie, was becoming a typist in order to work at a law firm.

"I don't know about Baby, but Kenny and James just got their letters." Daft letters. We all had been hearing rumors about it happening for the vietnam war, but we never thought it would happen. Especially not if you were enrolled in school.

"How?" I ask, feeling close to being sick. The idea of the government forcing men to go to war was insane.

"Their dad got sick over the summer and they both decided to take a semester off to help out their mother, next thing they knew they had federal envelopes in their mailbox."

"When do they-"

"On Sunday they ship out to basic."

"That's terrible," I say, holding Maria closer to myself. After a moment of silence I continue with, "I should probably return her to her family."

"Why don't I give you a ride home once you do that," Mark offers.

"Are you sure? I don't want you to drive out of your way."

"I'm sure Cate," Mark says standing up, I follow his lead. "I will go pull my car around."

I enter the church and walk around the perimeter slowly making my way to the front and the casket. The Sheldon's are still standing there, the line of well wishers not any shorter than when I left them. Mr. Sheldon notices me as I get closer and excuses himself from the conversation he was having.

"Is she okay?"

"Yes," I answer, shift Maria from one hip to the other, "She's just still confused about Bob."

"I will take her now, and then you are free to go," Mr. Sheldon says, I pass Maria over, and she stirs slightly in her sleep.

"Thank you."

"No, thank you Catherine. I don't think my family can ever repay you for how much you have done for us over these past two years. I truly appreciate you being here today." I nod, unsure of what else to say. Mr. Sheldon turns and joins back together with his family. I exit the church quickly and find Mark waiting in his car on the curb.

"Fancy meeting you here," Mark smirks.

"So not the time or the place for jokes," I scold, smiling.

"Curtis's still live at the same place?" Mark asks pulling away from the curb.

"Mmmhmm, you still remember?"

"Of course I do, Mrs. Curtis made the biggest pre-game meals I've ever seen. I can't get food that good and I'm in college."

"Oh hush, I'm sure they're feeding you twenty four seven, what with you being on the football team an' all."

"I don't know about twenty four seven, but I'll make sure to bring that up with coach."

"I'm sure that will go over well," I reply, sarcasm heavy in my tone. Mark just laughs and shakes his head.

"So, I'm curious, did my wedding invitation get lost in the mail?"

"What are you talking about?" I ask turning my full body towards him.

"I seem to recall you saying something about you and Darry living together, you must of gotten married and forgot to invite me," Mark explains.

"Oh. Oh no. No, not at all. We aren't even dating."

"Sorry but that's bullshit. You guys can't not be dating, you're meant to be."

"I broke it off with him a little over two years ago."

"And you still live together?" Mark asks.

"Yes, well um, it's complicated."

"Nope, I think you two are still dating if not married, even if you say you aren't. I can tell these things, you know."

"Mark, stop it, we are not dating."

"Catie Catie Catie, how long have I known you?"

"I guess since freshman year of highschool."

"And how long have you been in love with Darry?"

"Since freshman year of highschool," I mumble, dropping my gaze to my lap.

"And you are still the same Catie, I would know if you and Darry had really broken up, because you wouldn't be you."

"Darry doesn't define me!" I argue. "And we really have broken up!"

"You're right, Darry doesn't define you. Darry completes you. And you complete him. I've been friends with both of you for long enough that I can see that you two need each other."

I open my mouth to argue, but he cuts me off.

"Answer me this one question, do you still love him?"

"Of course, I've never stopped. I don't think I could ever stop. He's my everything."

"See Catie, you might say you're 'broken up,' but you two are still very much together, just not 'officially.'"

"Mark you haven't seen us in two years, I don't think you know what you're talking about." I say getting out of the car. "Thanks for the ride."

"Catie, wait. I'm sorry if I've upsetted you, or offended you or Darry. I just , I just really care about the both of you, and I can speak for the whole team when I say it's your guys relationship that we all strive for, and it would be a real blow to the team moral if y'all were really done for good."

"Oh. Okay. Thanks for the ride again, it was great seeing you." I tell him, giving my best attempt at a genuine smile.

"You too Catie, you too," Mark says as he peels away from the curb. I watch him drive away until he turns the corner and out of my sight. I retreat into the house, surprised again at how quiet it is when I hear the screen door close behind me. No tv, no radio, no boys. I walk into each room, double checking that no one is home before sitting down onto the couch. I could feel the exhaustion in my bones, the last few days of taking care of everyone and not sleeping finally catching up to me. I kick off my heels, curling my feet up onto the couch. I'll just sit for a few minutes, I think as I lay my head down on the arm rest, but only a couple, then I'll get up and make a pot roast or something for dinner.

 **A/N so this is shorter than I want, but there is something BIG coming next chapter, so remember to review and it will come faster. xx**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Hello again! So a warning for the beginning of this chapter, it toes the line between T and M rated, with some trigger warning, so be careful, but it isn't very explicit so you should be good to go. As per usual I own everything you don't recognize, SE Hinton owns the rest.**

The first thing I feel is hands on my waist, rolling me from my side to my back. It's probably just Darry moving me around when I'm sleeping, like normal. But the hands continue, moving up, under my shirt. It isn't right. Darry's hands aren't this cold. The hands push my shirt up, above my breasts, I hear it tear at the seams. It's too rough, Darry isn't like this. I fight to open my eyes and wake myself up. Weight joins the hands, heavy on my hips and chest. I finally blink my eyes open and Dallas is hovering above me. He looks up from my chest to my face, grinning.

"Dally—," I start, feeling panic rising in my chest.

"You're not going to make a fuckin sound sweetheart, you dig. You're gonna keep your fucking mouth shut or the whole neighborhood's going to barge in and we don't want that, do we."

"Dally," he yanks down my skirt. "Dally stop it," I say, still fighting off sleep.

"Shut it bitch!" Dally bites back, his hands moving. Everywhere. Pulling in my hair, on my breasts, across my thighs coming to tear my underwear down. I cry out at the noise it makes and he shoves a hand over my mouth.

"I've been waiting a long time for this Catie and you ain't gonna mess it up by whining." He removes his hand only to fumble with the zipper on his pants.

"No, stop!" I tell him weakly. He backhands me across the face. Hard. The slap wakes me up completely and I'm crying now, tears spilling down my cheeks, eyes opened wide. His pants are down.

"Wait, Dally please!"

He thrusts into me with one motion, and I freeze. I can't move. I can't speak. I can't breathe. I can't feel anything except pain. It's starts off sharp and grows bigger and stronger each second. Burning on me and in me. I can hear him grunting above me, bile rising in my throat. I can hear him speaking, lewd words spilling from his mouth but I can't- I don't want to hear. I shut my eyes, tears still escaping without my permission, and focus on the pain. It keeps growing. Consuming me, swallowing me, becoming me. It's too much pain it hurts so much. And it won't stop. I just want it to stop. I open my mouth to say something, anything, but I'm crying too hard. I can't do anything and it hurts. It hurts too much.

And then it stops. I can't open my eyes, not yet. I rely on my other senses. I feel him get off of me. I hear the sound of the zipper. I feel the slight breeze created when the screen door opens and closes. I hear the creak of the front gate.

I want to get up. I need to get up. I can't get up. I can't move. I can't think. I can only lay there and listen to my heartbeat echo in my ears.

The slam of a car door sounds through the house, jolting me up.

Darry can't know what happened. It's my first thought. I sit up quickly, ignoring the black spots dancing across my vision.

Darry can't know what happened.

I move to the kitchen, my legs shaking beneath me as I use the wall for support. I grab the cleaning supplies from under the kitchen counter.

Darry can't know what happened.

I move back to the couch, and kneel next to it.

Darry can't know what happened.

I scrub. I scrub the entire couch, front, back, side, top. All of it. I scrub the carpet next to the couch and the coffee table.

Darry can't know.

I scrub until the coffee table starts reflecting after all of the polish, and I see myself.

Shit.

My shirt. My hair. My face. I back away from the table as fast as possible, falling over myself and banging into the wall. I'm breathing heavy, scanning the room, hoping someone will jump out and say it was all a joke, or a dream.

No one jumps out to stop this nightmare.

I'm up and moving before my mind can catch up, barreling towards the bathroom and locking myself in. I flick on the taps in the shower, forcing it to go as hot as possible. I strip of the remaining clothing I was still wearing, not bothering to see if anything is savable.

I step into the shower, the water scalding, but I refuse to adjust it.

I let the water stab into my skin like red hot needles. I grab the brick of soap, rubbing it harshly across my body.

I have to erase everything. I need to get rid of every mark, all of the tainted skin.

Darry can't know.

I scrub harder. I scrub away at all of my skin until little pinpoints of scarlet blood start pricking up all over my body. That's when I stop. I turn off the water, yet stay standing in the shower, letting the water droplets chase each other down my rubbed raw skin. I step out of my shower and find my reflection staring back at me through the mirror.

I turn away quickly, not wanting to see me, see what him did to me, see what he turned me into.

I move into the bedroom, willing myself to move faster, but my feet only shuffle forward. I put on the first clothes I can find, only making sure that no skin besides my face is showing.

Out of the house, I need to leave the house. I leave the safety of the bedroom, planning to make a beeline to the front door, but my path is blocked by Steve, Soda Two-bit and- _him_ walking in.

I can't.

I need to get away.

I change directions mid step, and find myself nearly running out the kitchen door into the backyard. I sit against Darry's tree, not facing the house though, facing the fence. I pull my knees to my chest, and hid my face within my arms.

I can't go in there. I can't. I can't. I can't. Not with him in there.

My heart keeps pounding faster and faster and I can't seem to get enough air with each breathe I take.

Tears fall into my jeans, darkening the fabric, but I can't seem to stop the from falling.

I try to slow my breathing, but it doesn't work. My fingers and toes start to feel numb and my head feels like it's spinning at 100 miles per hour.

I want it to stop. I want to breath normal. I want to feel my fingers and toes. I want everything to go away.

I can hear the sounds of the house seeping into the yard.

I focus on the sounds, trying to use it as an anchor.

Two-bit's barking laugh, Soda and Steve's bickering, the low long drawl that seems to be ingrained in my brain.

I'm too close. I'm still too close to them. To _him_. I need to leave.

I push up from the cold ground, using the tree to support my shaking legs.

I glance up at the house, all of the lights are on and I can see the boys moving between the rooms, laughing and shouting at each other. Laughing with _him_.

I move closer to the tree, hiding in its shadow, all while make my escape plan.

I bite my lip in a sad attempt to muffle the sobs that were still racking through my body. If I go into the house - that's not an option.

If I go the right, I would walk against the side that ended next the the front door and the drive way, too risky. Almost as risky as going in. Stop it, I tell myself, you aren't going in.

Headlights blind me for a moment as a car, no truck, pulls into the driveway. I hold my breath, ducking behind the tree.

I wait and I hope no one saw me.

What am I going to do?

Darry's home now.

Darry can't know.

What if he tells Darry?

Darry can't know.

Darry cannot know.

I hear the creak of the back screen door, but I don't dare look out and see who it is. Just in case.

Steve walks into view, a cigarette dangling from his lips. He pauses when he spots me, our eyes meeting.

"You savvy?" I shake my head, not daring the speak. "You want to come inside?" I shake my head again, brushing away tears. "You come in when it gets dark, it's starting to get cold out and I know superman will be worried if you don't show up by then."

Steve begins walking back to the house, pauses and but turns back around.

"I ain't gonna say anything to the gang if they ask, I figure you don't want anybody knowing why you're hiding out here, but I can't be keepin' anybodys from coming out here, ya dig?' I nod.

I don't know how long I sit under Darry's tree, but the sky fades from a brilliant bright blue to a inky navy. I stand up once again, wiping my face on my shirt sleeves. I can walk inside, through the kitchen and straight into the bedroom. No one will even notice, I tell myself as I approach the back porch. I climb the porch slowly, trying to keep the nervous, panicky feeling away.

I open the door and find Soda and Steve playing poker at the table.

I freeze, not even breathing as Soda jumps up, announcing my arrival to the entire house.

"Catie, where have you been?" Darry asks coming into the kitchen, Two-bit follows Darry in, and _he_ follows behind Two-bit.

"I-I," I stutter and pause. I couldn't get the words to come out of my mouth, not with _him_ staring directly at me. I stare at the floor, too angry with myself to even look at anyone else. A conversation started, but I felt like I was a million miles away. I knew my name was being brought up, and I knew that they were talking to me, but I kept my head down. I wasn't ready to be here, to be back in here. I want to leave. I need to leave.

"Catie?" Darry asks, coming closer to me, getting almost too close. Darry brings his hand up towards my face, and I freeze. He knows. He's going to hit me and kick me out. His fingers, like feathers, softly graze across my cheek. "What happened to your face?"

"What?" I ask quietly, allowing my hand to follow his across my cheek, I can feel the soreness there now, a small pain compared to everything else.

"It looks like someone socked you real good," Two-bit comments, "Have you been going to secret rumbles without us?"

"Um, no," I answer, but that isn't enough obviously. Everyone is still staring at me waiting. "Maria was having a tantrum and was kicking up a huge fuss. I was calming her down when she threw the block she had. I didn't realize it did so much damage," I shrug, pretending to be confused. It looks like everyone bought the story, except for _him_. _He_ just smirks.

"Was it because of the thing today?" Darry asks, trying to be discreet, but it didn't work so well.

"What thing?" Soda questions.

"She-"

"I-" I say at the same time as Darry. Was he going to tell them about the funeral? Was I going to tell them about the funeral? I stare at Darry, he was the one who didn't want them knowing this morning about the funeral, he can decide if he says it now.

"Catie went to Bob Sheldon's funeral today," Darry says finally. It's a fluster of sounds and movement again as Steve and Two-bit flip out. It's too much, too loud, too crowded. And then it stops, and they are all looking at me. I guess I missed something.

"I-" I pause, again. They are all staring at me expecting something. Why? "I can't do this," I manage to get out before a brush past everyone, almost running through the kitchen into the bedroom. I close the door and fall onto the bed. Keep it together, keep it together, you've cried enough today you don't need to start crying again. I hug Darry's pillow closer to myself, his scent calming me down some.

"Darry, wait." That's Soda outside the door.

"What Soda?" Darry snaps back.

"Maybe, maybe give her some time-" I can picture Soda running his hand through his hair nervously, the same thing he does when he confronts Darry about how he treats Pony. Oh Pony. Where is he? Is he okay? Guilt and worry poor through me at that thought.

"Why? She's my-"

"She was at a funeral all day, do you not remember the night after mom and dad's funeral, none of us, including Catie, wanted to do anything. These things are exhausting. Plus it was a soc funeral, we have no idea what happened. Just give her space."

"Soda, you don't know her like I do."

"I'm pretty sure I do Darry. You dated her since I was ten, she's lived here for two years, and I'm telling you to give her space!"

"What if something happened at that funeral?! What if she's not okay?!" I slowly get off of the bed as Darry and Soda get louder and louder. I can't stand them fighting. Not with everything that happened today.

"She would tell you Darry. She would tell someone."

"They could have hurt her, threatened her, something, anything. I should have gone with her!"

"Oh and that would have made it better?! A greaser going to the dead soc's funeral! At least because she was alone no one could single her out as a greaser, I'm positive she blended right in with the rest of the socs!"

"What's that suppose to mean?!"

"Please, stop fighting, it's not helping anyone," I say quietly as I come out of the room. Soda is leaning against the opposite wall with Darry looming over him. Darry spins around, almost catching Soda's jaw with his elbow.

"Catie, did something happen today?" Darry asks grabbing my hands, I flinch, trying to pull back but his grip is too strong for me. Darry stares at me, hurt and confused, and I force myself to relax. I see Soda rolling his eyes behind Darry's back.

"Obviously something happened today Darry, that much is clear."

"Soda," Darry warns, not even turning around, still staring me down, expecting something. Expecting answers from me. I've never kept anything from him, and he's never kept anything from me. But he can't know what happened.

"Can you not tell?" Soda asks, raising an eyebrow. "Or are you just blind to emotion, doesn't matter if it's Catie or Pony."

"Sodapop Curtis! I'd watch your tone if I were you," Darry scolds, finally breaking away, sounding exactly like Mr. Curtis.

"What're you gonna do, scream at me? Hit me? Go for it," Soda taunts. When Darry makes no moves, Soda scoffs and walks out. Out of the hallway, out of the house. Darry looks between myself and door, hesitating.

"Go," I tell him. Don't go, I beg in my head. Please don't leave. I'll tell everything, just don't leave me.

"But-"

"Go." I repeat, hoping he won't listen. Darry sighs looking back one more time before following Soda. I hear him take the boys with him. I slide down the wall, sitting crossed-leg in the hallway. Why did he leave? Because I told him to, and his brothers are more important, I remind myself.

"Catie," Steve says sitting down across from me in the hallway. It's a small hallway, so his legs end up on either side of me, caging me in. But not in a bad way, it's more comforting than trapping.

"Shouldn't you be with Soda?"

"And shouldn't Darry be here with you? And Pony and Johnny be conspiring in Pony's room? And Mr. and Mrs. Curtis be alive? A lot of things should be."

"When you go and get philosophical on me?"

"Not philosophical, just the truth," Steve shrugs, litting up a cig. I roll my eyes, chuckling slightly. This was normal, Steve spitting hard truths and acting like it was as common as commenting on the weather. Growing up around here you learn what the hard truth is before you learn to tie your shoes. "So when are you going to tell anyone what happened today that has you so worked up?"

"I'm not, I can't," I say with a finality to my words.

"Just like that? No one? Ever?"

"Oh, I don't know," I feel myself breaking under Steve's gaze. Maybe it would be easier if I told. I dismiss that idea, they would choose Dally over me anyday. "Maybe someday, maybe someone, but not now, not tomorrow, not until I know it's safe."

"Safe?" Steve questions, raising an eyebrow. Stupid, stupid word to use. "Is it unsafe?" I nod, refusing to say anymore. "Is it ever going to be safe?"

"Maybe, maybe one day?" I say, unsure.

"Can you make me a promise Catie?" Steve asks.

"Depends," I answer slowly, cautiously, knowing promises with Steve can end badly, real badly.

"Swear to me, that whenever it's safe again, for you to talk, you'll tell someone, can you do that for me?"

"Yeah, I think I can," I agree, knowing it won't be safe, ever, not unless he is gone, for good.

"Savvy." I start fiddling with a loose thread at the bottom of Steve's jeans while he smokes through at least half a pack.

"Steve?" I ask after a while.

"What?"

"Thank you," I say quietly, bailing on my original question. I can't bother Steve with my problems. Or anyone. It's my weight to bear.

"What?"

"Thank you," I repeat. I'm not to sure why I'm thanking him. Is it for being here? For staying? For not pushing? I don't know.

"No problem doll," Steve grins, "No idea what I did, but sure."

The screen door slams open, banging against the living room wall and echoing through the house. I jump slightly, grabbing onto Steve's leg.

"You good?" Steve asks, standing up and bring me up with him.

"I will be," I say, taking a deep breath, steadying myself. We go into the living room, surprisingly only Soda and Darry are there.

"Where's Dally and Two-bit?" Steve asks.

"They went to ask around where Pony is again," Darry says. Soda glares at Darry before brushing past me and Steve, heading to his room.

"I'm heading out, Evie's been on me a lot that I haven't seen her all week," Steve says, nodding at Darry before leaving. Great, alone with Darry. Don't tell him, I remind myself.

"Catie?" Darry asks carefully. I shake my head slightly, not ready to say anything. I know if I start talking, I'll tell. And that can't happen. Darry crosses the room and pulls me into a hug.

And I break.

His arms are strong around me, keeping me safe. Holding me together while I fall apart.

"Catie, what happened to you? To us? To everyone?" Darry asks, his words muffled and thick. I look up from his chest and see tear rimming his eyes. I reach up, carefully wiping away the tears before they can fall. "Let's go to bed," Darry says, stepping away to turn off the lights. He returns, wrapping his arms around me as we walk to the bedroom. We get ready silently, i make sure Darry is turned away as I change, he can't see the bruises leftover on my hips and ribs. I finish first and wait for Darry to turn off the lights and lay down next to me.

I try falling asleep, but everytime I close my eyes, I can see _him_ above me. I try counting sheep, thinking of old dates Darry and I had, remembering the plots of books I read in highschool, but _he_ keeps interrupting, looming over me.

I wait until I know Darry is dead asleep, and then slowly move out of his hold and out of the room. I enter the kitchen and sit down at the table. It's only 1:30am, there's still a long way to go until morning.

"Catie?" Soda whispers, sounding shocked.

"You don't have to whisper, he's dead asleep," I tell Soda as he joins me at the table. There's a piece of paper in his hand that he keeps folding and unfolding.

"I didn't think anyone would be awake."

"I couldn't sleep," I shrug, hoping it looked causal.

"Me neither."

"Soda, what's wrong?" I ask, noticing how disheveled and moody he looks. He sighs, handing over the piece of paper in his hand before dropping his head to the table.

I read over the paper, or letter technically. 'Dear Sodapop, My parents made me move to Florida to live with my grandparents. They said they don't want to see me for at least a year. It makes sense, honestly. I guess I should just say it, but I'm sorry. I'm pregnant. Please don't call me, or write me any letters Soda, I know that it's not your's. I know you wouldn't care, and try to raise it yourself. And I think my parents knew that too. That's why I'm in Florida. I'm so sorry, but I don't expect you to forgive me. How could you, I cheated and ended up pregnant. You should hate me Sodapop. Yours truly, Sandy Miller.'

"Oh Soda," I say, dropping the letter and grabbing his hands in mine.

"She's right, I would have taken care of the baby. I would have worked extra, saved up money. Hell I would have proposed, I loved her. I think I still love her, even now."

"Oh Soda," I repeat, "It's hard to stop loving someone, it's one of the hardest things you can do. And no matter what you do, your heart is still going to care about that person, you can't stop that."

"I don't know what to do. I should be angry at her, she cheated on me, but I can't be. Maybe because there's still a chance that she's wrong, and it's mine and maybe she'll come back. And I'm angry at myself for not being angry at her, but I can't be. I just can't."

"It's going to be okay," I assure him.

"How do you know?!" Soda lashes out, pushing away from the table, knocking over the chair. "You've never been in a bad relationship. Your relationship with Darry doesn't even have any problems!"

"You don't know the fights we've had, Soda."

"Like what?"

"You really want to know? Right now?" I ask.

"I need to know," Soda nearly begs, sitting down, running his hands through his hair. There is a hunger in his eyes.

"Well," I start slowly, thinking back to the fights Darry and I've had. "We fought like cats and dogs when I dropped out of OU, we screamed at each other nearly every night for hours, on and on, about how I shouldn't be ruining my future, and how he shouldn't be alone carrying for you boys."

"Why don't I remember any of this?" Soda asks.

"Sometimes, it happened during the day, when you boys were at school. But sometime's it was late, late at night, after both of you were asleep, we would go out to the backyard, or down the street to the lot. I know that Steve and," _him_ "Two-bit saw us a few times."

"What about when you and Darry were like me and Sandy in high school?"

"Darry always got mad when I would have to go work on projects with soc boys. I would get mad when I would hear rumors about Darry and some other girl. Especially a greaser girl. But we would work it out, or if we didn't-"

"Wait, what?"

"Sometimes things weren't easily fixed by an 'I'm sorry'. We would go with our separate friends, get all ready, go over to Buck's, try and make each other jealous by dancing with other people, but still end up together in one of the upstair rooms-"

"Okay, okay, I don't need to hear the rest."

"Did this help?" I ask, still unsure why he was asking to hear about our fights.

"I don't know if anything can help, she's gone," Soda says, dropping his head down to the table again.

"Soda honey, maybe you should try and get some sleep."

"I can't!" Soda says, his words muffled by the table. "Sandy's gone, and Pony's gone, and Johnny too. And somebody hurt you, and Darry's out of sorts."

"Soda baby, you don't need to worry about me or Darry. I know it feels like you should, but we are fine. And Pony and Johnny are going to come back soon and be perfectly a-okay."

He drags his head up.

"Catie, somebody hurt you. You're just about as flinchy as Johnny is, and you can hardly answer any questions about today. What happen? Who did it?"

"Please, Soda, don't. I can't."

"You can't what Catie, just tell me. I promise I'm not going to do anything. I just need to know."

"No," I say, standing up.

"Catie!"

"No, Soda. Now get to bed," I say, sounding exactly like Mrs. Curtis used to. Soda gets up, and shuffles past me, giving me and hurt look. I take a deep breathe, waiting to make sure Soda is in his room. I go into the bathroom, and open the medicine cabinet. I measure out one and a half doses of some cold medicine from last winter, that I knew would put me to sleep, almost instantly. I throw back to shot of medicine, and head back to Darry. I curl up on my side, and his hand somehow snakes around me, but I'm too sleepy at that point to fight how heavy and awful it feels against my hip.

 **A/N the more you review, the faster these are uploaded, so review, follow and favorite for more on Catie and Darry. xoxo**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N Hullo! Here's a longer chapter to make up for the time gap. Just a reminder that this fic dances the line between T and M so prepare yourself. As always, if you recognize it, it belongs to someone else.**

I slump forward at the kitchen table. Darry had everyone up early this morning, and I know Soda didn't get any sleep, and even with the cold medicine I feel like I stayed up the whole night. I glance up at the kitchen clock, only 7:45. Darry sits down at the table, between Soda and myself, with two cups of chocolate milk and coffee for himself.

"Darry, what's going on?" Soda asks, sliding his glass back and forth across the table.

"I went down to the courthouse yesterday. They said if Pony isn't back by tomorrow night, that they'll-" Darry pauses, looking away from Soda and I. Soda and I share a look across the table, what is the social worker going to do? "That they are going to be forced to take Soda to a boy's home. No if, ands, or buts about it."

"They can't do that?!" Soda shouts, jumping out of his chair. "Can they?" Soda asks, his words wavering.

"I'm afraid they can little buddy. Unless Pony comes back, I'm seen as an unfit guardian, and even if he comes back, there's still a chance both of you would end up in a boys home." I was absolutely speechless. I knew this could happen, but I didn't even think about it. From the looks of it, Soda was just as speechless as I was. The three of us, we knew the score of the situation, that Darry walked a thin line in order to keep his family with him. That this would most likely be the straw that broke the camel's back. Soda slowly moved back to the table, sitting down again.

"What can we do?" Soda asked.

"I don't know little buddy, if Pony and Johnny come home, they're facing time, and who knows what else. And if they don't, they're safe from the state but-"

"But you lose me," Soda finishes.

"I'm sorry Pepsi-Cola, I just don't know what I can do at this point."

"It's not your fault," Soda says automatically. I try to form words, say something, do something to comfort them. But I'm frozen in shock. I never thought it would get so bad. Darry and I talked plenty about what Soda and Pony could do and couldn't do, and what we could do, and not do, to keep everyone together. It felt as if no matter what I did, awful things were still going to happen.

"Good morning Curtis family!" Two-bit shouts, entering the kitchen. Steve and D- _him_ follow behind.

"What's going on?" Steve asks suspiciously, looking between Darry, Soda and I. I can imagine him trying to think of the worst thing that could've happen, but anything he could think up wouldn't be as bad.

"It's been a shit night, for everyone," Soda answers, but doesn't go on.

"Is everything-?" Steve asks before being interrupted by Soda.

"Hey, I think the DX got a new shipment of parts, we should go see if there's anything good."

"We don't get inventory on Wednesdays," Steve starts arguing, but stops, giving into to Soda. Steve and Soda were great like that, they were always able to talk to each other. I look at Darry, feeling the words, the courage to tell him, building up, but then _he_ sits down at the table, and it all falls away.

"Catie, are you feeling alright, you haven't said anything all morning?" Darry asks. I give a small, fake smile, before looking away again.

"Maybe she's coming down with something," Two-bit says concerned, getting close to my face. No, no, can't happen, too close. I back away from the table, and leave the kitchen. Making my way through the house out onto the front porch I try to tell myself that I'm not running away.

"You alright babydoll," _he_ drawls, stepping out behind me. I freeze, my heart racing, looking for an escape, but _his_ hands are on either side of me, trapping me between the railing and _him_.

"Turn around for me babe, I want to see your face," _He_ whispers. I shake my head, hands gripping the railing. I don't want to see _his_ face, I don't want to see _him_. "Unless you want me to do it for you."

I slowly release the railing and turn around. I don't look at _his_ face. I can't. Instead I stare past _him_ , towards the door, willing anybody to come out. _He_ leans closer in, and I can feel _him_.

"I need a favor," _he_ drawls, "And we both know what's going to happen if you don't listen." I wait, not knowing what to expect. "Reach into my front pocket, and grab my smokes and lighter," I hesitate, unsure. "Now," _he_ hisses. Hands shaking I reach down to the front pocket of his jean. "That's right," he groans, pressing himself closer to me. I fumble to get the cigarette and lighter out of his pocket, my hands shaking so bad I might drop them. "In my lips," he demands. I place the cig in between his lips, and fumble further with the lighter. Finally, it's lit, but he doesn't move away. I need him to get off of me, but I'm trapped.

"You ain't been yapping to anyone right?" he asks. I shake my head, as much as I want to tell someone, anyone, I can't. I have no one to tell. I've spent the last two years with Darry, his brothers, and their friends, and have lost any friends I used to have in highschool. There's no one. "Good," he purrs, "That means we can do it more. You know you're addicting right? I can't stop thinkin' about how you felt under me, the sounds you made for me. I need it again. Soon." Why? Why me? Oh God, what have I done. Why him? "Stick around baby, you're mine now." I'm shaking so badly now I can hardly stand. He walks away, back into the house. Suck it up Catie, I tell myself, trying to blink away the tears that were forming in the corners of my eyes. Shake it off, shake it off.

I move away from the railing, and sit on the steps of the porch. Maybe if I sit here long enough Pony and Johnny will return and everything will go back to normal. Maybe.

Soda and Steve return from the DX before I can be bothered to move from the porch. Soda walks right past, carrying on with his conversation, but Steve stops.

"Soda, you go in, I'll be there in a minute." Steve says. Soda nods, going inside.

"Is it still eating you up?" Steve asks, sitting down, lighting a smoke.

"Yeah," I manage to say.

"Safe yet?"

"No."

"How are the brothers?" Steve asks changing the subject.

"I-I don't know, did Soda tell you anything?"

"About him being shipped off to a boys home, yup. About Sandy, no. Evie did. I'm waiting for him to say something."

"He told me last night," I tell Steve, "I read the letter she left him, it was horrible. It was full of all the right words to tear Soda apart. This on top of Pony going missing, I don't know how he's still going," I tell Steve.

"Me neither, and he's somehow got the idea that he needs to protect you now, because some mysterious force has shaken you up."

"Steve, don't."

"I'm not, I'm not," Steve says raising his hands in defense, "But just remember, it's like domino's in your house, one of you start wobbling and you are all going to end up on the floor."

I shrug. I know how much this is throwing Soda, and Darry off. But it's not only me, it's Pony and Johnny too, there's a lot more going on then just me. We are all wobbling.

"Let's go inside," Steve says, standing up and stubbing out his cigarette. I stand with him, but I can't bring myself to go back inside.

"I think I'm going to walk around for a bit."

"You sure? Socs are still everywhere."

"Well, aren't you boys be setting up a rumble soon, there's no jazz before a rumble," I shrug.

"Shit you're right, we need to hold council."

"I know," I smile slightly before walking off. I n eeded to get away from the house for a bit. I head uptown, not completely sure where I am heading. I end up in the neighborhood I grew up in, but everything seems foreign now. It's not my neighborhood anymore. I make my way to the small park in the middle of all of the houses.

I sit down on the swings, thinking about all the days I spent in this park. I lost my first tooth over by the slides when one of the boys, Pete maybe, pushed me over in a game of tag. A few of us in elementary school decided that we would all sneak out and meet up in the park after dinner time. We hid under the slides and behind trees as our parents came out looking for us. I got grounded for a week for sneaking out. Some other kids weren't so lucky, and we never snuck out again. Until highschool, of course.

"Excuse me, miss," a voice breaks me out of my thoughts. Two little girls are sitting on the swings, trying to pump and get enough speed, but their legs are too short.

"Do you girls need a push?" I ask, getting up and going behind them before they can answer. I give the older one a push, then the younger one, sending them into a fit of giggles. I smile as I push them higher and higher.

The park is starting to get more busy now, it must be after lunch time. Some mom's are sitting on a blanket under the trees just like my mother used too. Some of the older kids are running around, playing a game they made up, while the smaller ones are sitting in the sandbox with their toys.

"Higher, higher," the girls chant, laughing. I comply giving them both big pushes. Their laughter brings one of the moms over, if it's theirs I can't be sure. It was always changing who brought the kids to the park when I was younger.

"Hello," the mom says.

"Oh sorry," I apologize stepping away from the kids. I must look insane, playing with kids I don't even know anything about. "They asked to be pushed, and well I couldn't say no," I explain, blushing.

"Oh it's fine dear, are you new around here? I haven't seen you around before."

"I grew up a few streets away-"

"Are you visiting your parents?" the mom asks. I forgot how nosey this neighborhood could be. Most greasers go by the 'don't ask, don't tell' philosophy.

"Um, I haven't decided yet," I tell her, knowing full well there's no way I will ever be stepping foot back in that house.

"I'm sure they are dying to see you, what being back from college and everything, I'm Nora by the way."

"Catie, and I didn't actually go off to college."

"Got hitched after high school?" Nora asks, laughing slightly, "That's what I did, this little one Jenny came along and surprised me and Henry. Really made us realize that we are raising a family. And now we're expecting again," She says rubbing her belly. Right, girl's my age are either in school or popping out babies. I have to force myself not to roll my eyes at her.

"Oh that's wonderful, congratulations," I tell her, hoping she can't hear the fakeness of my words.

"Are you expecting?"

"No."

"Oh don't worry, it took me and Henry what feels like forever to get pregnant after Jenny."

"Yeah, I think we're trying to save up, or something," I tell her, looking away. Save up, total bullshit. Save ourselves and life as we know it more like it.

"Jenny, go play with Heidi and Clarice, and ask Heidi's mom if she'll take you home with them when she leaves, okay baby?" Nora asks. The two girls nod before running away. "Catie, do you want to walk around a bit?"

"Sure," I agree, letting her guide me out of the park. We make our way through the rows of houses, and some of them I recognize as old hangout from middle school.

"Catie, is everything okay, you seem really upset?" Nora asks, sitting us down on the steps of one of the houses.

"I," I start, biting my lip. Should I tell her? I only just met her. But that could be perfect, she doesn't know about Darry, or the gang, or anything. "The last few days have been terrible," I start again. Nora waits, listening. "So. I live with my best friend, Darry, and his two brothers, their parents died a little over two years ago. But we also used to date, and I broke us up after his parents died, because too much was happening. We still live together, and fool around sometimes, but- Anyway Darry's younger brother and his best friend got wrapped up in that murder case, and we have no idea where they are, they've been on the run for five days now. I wish I could just find them and bring them back and tell them everything will be okay, but it might not be. Darry could lose custody of his two brothers, no matter what happens. And then we have this friend," say it, "D-Dally, he likes to try and see how far he can get with girls. And he likes to target me a lot. And last night, he-"

"You don't have to go on, sugar," Nora says, grabbing my hand in hers. I wipe away the tears that had managed to fall. I didn't want to keep crying. "Have you told anyone, like Darry?"

"I can't. I don't know why, but I can't. He'd hate me!"

"How can you be sure?"

"Dally was over this morning, they're friends. Everyone's friends with him."

"You think that if you tell Darry, that he's going to side with Dally?" I nod. "Well, I don't know your man, but I'm sure he won't kick you out. And it sounds like he could never hate you."

"But, it's like I cheated on him," I say before I can think about what I was saying. That's why I didn't want to tell Dar, guilt. I felt guilty, and if he knew, it would destroy him. And us. "He can't know," I whisper, mostly to myself.

"No. You can't think like that," Nora declares, breaking the silence. "That's not what happened. You didn't want to, you know, with Dally. You didn't cheat on your man."

"But that's what he'll think, if I tell him. That what everyone will think! Right?" I ask.

"Honey, I don't know your man, or his friends, but if he truly cares about you, he will listen to you."

"I'm sorry," I apologize, feeling bad for telling this practical stranger all of my problems. "I barely know you, and I'm expecting you to know the answer to these things."

"Don't apologizes," Nora says, waving off the idea with her hand, "And I'd like to think we're friends now. And I'll let you in on a secret. Henry and I moved here a few months ago, and I don't think a lot of these moms are too hot on me, you dig?"

"This neighborhood is bit, odd," I manage to say seriously before we both started laughing. This neighborhood was more than odd, everyone wanted to know everything about everyone, and then some.

"Oh you're telling me. The only reason Henry and I picked this house was that his great-aunt used to live here, until she passed, and he was able to snag the house. But wow, these women are something else."

"Oh the stories I could tell from growing up here, there was a new piece of gossip at every meal. And I'm sure for a long time I was part of it."

"Doll, who hasn't been part of the gossip ring. Speaking of which, I should go get Jenny, or the rumours'll keep flying," Nora says standing up. "Come with?"

"I should be getting back," I tell her, standing.

"Are you going to be okay?" Nora asks.

"I'm going to try, but I don't know. He's always there, and there isn't always someone there to stop him."

"I don't know what I would do, Catie. Maybe try talking to your man."

"He's so worried about Pony and Johnny. Maybe when they get back, and things get better."

"Like I said, I don't know you're friends. But if you need to get away, come find me. I'm always home or at the park. And we can laugh at these silly gossip mongers."

"You might be my life saver Nora," I tell her, giving her a hug.

"Don't be a stranger," Nora stresses.

"I won't," I agree, before leaving. I make my way out of the neighborhood, feeling slightly better. Someone listened to me, and believed me. And I had a friend that was not part of the gang, or a greaser, or from Tulsa. Someone new.

"Curtis!"

I turned around and spotted Tim pulling up behind me in his souped up car. Of course.

"Hey Tim," I greet, forcing a smile. Tim wasn't a good friend, but he was consistent. And that was rare with greasers.

"Wandering around the city again? Are you asking to get jumped?" Tim asks.

"Oh hush, I know you boys are setting up a rumble, and that means no jazz." I tell him, walking over to his car.

"Right you are, is Curtis showing at the council?"

"Which one?"

"You're shitting me right?"

"Not at all Shepard, which Curtis?"

"The eldest one."

"I doubt it, but Soda will most likely show."

"Are you going to show, like old times?"

"I have no way to get to the rail yard," I tell him. Honestly, I would be happy if I never went to another pre-rumble war council in my life. When we were in highschool, and a rumble was needed, all of the boys would meet up in the rail yard. There was almost a ceremonial feeling. They would arrange their cars in a circle, headlights pointing in. They would stand in the middle and fight over location, and weapons, and numbers. They would bring all of us girls along, and we would sit on the cars and watch. Part of it was a weird competition to see which side would bring more girls and better cars.

"Come with me, I'll give you a ride."

"I don't know Tim, is it anything like it used to be?"

"Hell no!" Tim laughs. "But I hear that some of the socs from the old day are back in town and ready to fight, so if Curtis isn't showing, you got to."

"I really shouldn't, we still don't know where Ponyboy is."

"Right, baby Curtis is on the run from the feds."

"Not the feds, don't say that."

"You never know Catie," Tim says, smirking. "You can't protect us greasers forever."

"I know, but I'm still going to try," I tell him. "Be careful at the council. I've seen Mark, Kenny and James already. I don't know if the twins will fight, but I'm willing to bet anything Mark will. And he doesn't fight clean."

"You sure you don't want to come?" Tim asks.

"I'm positive," I say, pushing away from the car, "Be careful Shepard."

"You too Curtis," he says before peeling away from the car. With the war council happening now the house should be mostly empty. I walk back to the house trying not to think of anything really. When I get back, Darry is sitting at the kitchen table, papers everywhere.

"Hey," I greet him, sitting down.

"Hey" he responds going back to the papers. Not just any papers, but it looks like his parents will. "Fuck," he exclaims after a few moments.

"Darryl, language," I scold automatically. I never liked how much these boys cussed, but there wasn't much you could do to change them.

"Sorry, sorry."

"What's wrong?" I ask, picking up the paper he threw down,

"They," his parents "never declared guardians, ever. No draft of the will or anything. Did everything else, who gets what car and what jewlery, but not who would get us."

"Let me see all of it," I ask. He collects the papers into a pile and pushes it across the table. I read through the wills, making note of the dates. "What about it this one, it's just after you were born, something about if anything ever happens you should go to Vincent Curtis. Who's that?"

"Dad's brother. But look at the next will, after Soda's birth, they retract that statement and never pick new guardians."

"Why don't I remember an Uncle Vince?"

"I never met him, none of us have. Mom only mentioned him once or twice."

"Do you still have Mom's old address book?" I ask, going towards our room.

"Yeah, it should be in there somewhere. Why?" Darry asks, not moving from the table. I go to the closet, opening one of the boxes we had shoved in the back. Near the bottom of one I find the address book. I bring it out to the kitchen.

"I know it's not a great solution, but we could try calling him. Maybe…"

"I don't know Catie, he must've done something to make Dad never talk about it. Dad wasn't a hateful man, he didn't not talk about someone unless there was a good reason."

"Well, let's find out the reason," I decide, going to the telephone. I leaf through the book, finding Vincent Curtis' page with a phone number and an address listed. "Me or you?" I ask, picking up the phone.

"I'll do it," Darry says, moving to the phone, "But you're staying here too," he adds before dialing. We keeps the phone between us, waiting for someone to pick up.

"'Ello?" a voice says from the other end. I jump a little, I wasn't really expecting anyone to answer, it was an old address book.

"Hello, is this Vincent Curtis?" Darry asks.

"Who this be?"

"My name is Darry-Darryl Curtis, I think my father was your brother."

"You think or you know sonny?"

"I know, you're my uncle."

"Well what do you what, money, a place to stay? Did your old man kick you out?"

"My dad, and mom, have been dead for over two years sir."

"Well damn."

"I'm sorry."

"Not your fault sonny, unless you were the one to kill them."

"No, no. They died in a car accident."

"Shame, your pop was a good man."

"My parents, when I was born, put in their will that you were suppose to be my guardian, should anything happen. But when my younger brother was born, they took that bit out. What happened?"

"It's not a long story sonny, I told them take me out. I could do one of you, fine, but more, no siree."

"Why did they never mention you?"

"I'm not quite a family man you see, I stayed in the service, unlike your pop who just did his time. I wasn't going to show up to birthday parties or Easter. And I wasn't settling down like your pop did. I wasn't a man they wanted around, Darryl made that clear, so I stayed away."

Darry looked over at me, mouthing, asking me what he should say. I gave him a look that I hope said asking him to take custody if things go bad.

"I took custody of my brothers, after the accident, but the courts weren't too hot on that idea. It's been two years, and I've been trying my best but it hasn't been easy. They're threatening to take my brothers away again."

"And you want to know if I'll take them in, even if you've never met me sonny."

"Yes sir."

"Have they taken you to court yet?"

"Not yet, but it might be going that way."

"I'll tell you what, your pops was a good man, a great man at that. You fight for your brothers, you fight tooth and nail, you hear me? And if the system is hell bent on breaking up your family, give me another call, and I'll come around. But listen, I don't want you to give up, you need to fight for them, and fight hard, once you lose your brother it's a hell of a lot harder to get them back. Trust me on that sonny."

"Yes sir. Thank you sir. I'll fight as hard as can," Darry says, grinning ear to ear. We had a plan, and a back up plan, for once since the accident.

"You do that sonny, you do that," Vincent says before hanging up.

"You're amazing Catie, one hundred percent amazing and brilliant and wonderful," Darry exclaims, picking me up in a hug.

"Darry, Darry, put me down," I say, pushing on his arms, "I can't breathe."

"Sorry," Darry shrugs, setting me down, "But you are amazing, brilliant and wonderful."

"Remember that always," I tell him, sitting down at the kitchen table. Darry joins me. "Why didn't I know your Dad was in the Military?"

"He got drafted into the Navy for the second War. Was on a boat somewhere off of Japan, didn't see much action. He did his time and got out."

"Drafted?" I ask, remember Kenny and James.

"Yeah, you know, we learned about this is Mr. Fierke's class."

"Did you know they start drafting for Vietnam?" I ask.

"That's just a rumour, I wouldn't worry about it. You know how those hippies like to cause problems."

"Kenny and James got letters. They leave on Sunday for basic."

"Is that what shook you up last night?" Darry asks. I shrug. I hadn't really thought about the draft. "Catie, you don't have to worry about any of us being drafted, the boys are all too young."

"I know, it's still scary. Think about all those boys fighting in a war we don't know anything about."

"Then don't think about it, think about what's happening now."

"I'm trying," I tell him. "Are the boys at the war-"

"Yes. I told them not to go, it's a stupid pointless fight."

"But you're still going to fight," I say. Rumbles made me anxious. Someone was going to get hurt, that was a given. But you never knew who, or how badly until afterwards. Time moved slower when Darry was at a rumble. When we were in highschool, I would sit at my bedroom window, refusing to talk to my parents, just waiting to see his truck pull up. I would sneak out of my window, run to the truck and make sure he was okay. He always had to be okay.

"You worry too much," Darry teases.

"I think I'm allowed to worry about all of you boys going out into some field and punching each other out until enough people fall over. It's barbaric."

"It's how change gets made."

"Now you just sound like a bad politician," I laugh. "I can't believe we found your uncle. Who knew?"

"I don't want to tell Soda, and I don't want you telling Soda either."

"What, why?"

"I don't want him to think I'm giving up on him. I not. I just need to make sure he doesn't end up in some godforsaken boys home. Family's better than nothing."

"I don't agree, I think Soda deserves to know." I argue, "He's not like Pony, he's known the score since day one."

"I know, I just don't want him to know. Not yet."

"Okay, I won't say anything, but I don't agree. He's not stupid."

"I never said he was, I just don't want him concerned about another thing. He acts like it's his duty to protect this family, like he needs to help out."

"That's just how he is, he can't help it."

"I know, I wish he could."

"Don't we all wish something was different."

"Catie."

"Darry."

"Friday night!" Two-bit shouts running into the house. The rest of the boys follow in, hooting and hollering, but stop when they see Darry and I staring each other off across the kitchen table.

"What's going on?" Soda asks moving into the kitchen.

"Nothing," Darry and I say at the same time. He grabs all of the papers off of the table, and I move to the fridge to look for food for dinner.

"They're talking in synch, something's up," Two-bit stage whispers.

"Nothing's up," Darry and I say again at the same time as Darry walks into the kitchen. I shoot him a small glare, he just shrugs.

"We should leave before they explode the house," Two-bit says, backing out of the kitchen.

"They ain't going to blow anything up," Steve says, walking into the kitchen and sitting down at the table. "Poker?"

"I'm down," Soda agrees, grabbing a card deck from the top of the fridge and sitting down.

"Deal me in," _He_ says, joining them.

"Me too, beer?" Two-bit asks, grabbing three. Soda didn't drink, in the house at least. I pull out some ground beef and onions. Maybe I'll do a meatloaf with potatoes. I pull out the rest of the ingredients from the fridge and cabinets.

"Catie, tell Dally he can't smoke in the kitchen," Two-bit complains.

"You boys know my rule," I say without turning around.

"He's not listening," Two-bit adds.

"Are you boys really acting like children?" I ask turning around. No one says anything. "Dallas," I choke out, his name feels like wool in my mouth, "You know my rule, no smoking in the kitchen." Oh god, I'm in for it, I should of let it slide, why did I tell him off. I pale, turning back around.

"Maybe I like breaking the rules," Dallys says, stubbing out his cig in the sink next to me.

"You better watch out, or Catie's gonna whoop your ass," Two-bit jeers.

"I doubt she's going to be whooping anyone's ass anytime soon," Dally says, sitting back down. Shake it off, shake it off. Nothing to get worked up about, I tell myself. Focusing on the onions I was cutting. You are tearing up because of the onions, not Dallas.

"You ready to get even on the socs Superman?" Steve asks.

"What's the lowdown on this rumble?" Darrys asks, coming in, helping me with the potatoes.

"Our turf, just skins, no chains, blades, pipes or heaters," Dally drawls.

"Who's staying to eat?" I ask.

"Just Steve and me," Soda replies. "I fold," he adds. I pass Darry the right amount of potatoes to cut and put in the pot of boiling water.

"Some of your old football buddies were there, Mark, Derrick, and the other two, the twins," Two-bit adds.

"You didn't mention Mark was back in town," Darry's says, looking at me.

"I must've forgotten," I shrug, "Shoot!" I exclaim, dropping the knife I was holding. I'd somehow cut my hand instead of the celery.

"Let me see," Darry says, setting down his knife.

"No, no, you keep cooking, I got this," I assure him, going into the bathroom.

"Soda, go help Catie," Darry says as I walk out. I run my hand under the faucet, but this cut keeps bleeding.

"Catie, let me see," Soda says, standing next to me in the bathroom.

"I'm fine," I say.

"Let me see," Soda insists. I sigh, letting him grab my hand. The cut is across my palm, right under my fingers. "Were you trying to cut them off?"

"I just got distracted, I'm fine,"

"Let me bandage it up."

"I'm-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know you're fine, just let me but a band-aid on it."

"Fine," I sigh, sitting on the edge of the bathtub. Soda finds the first aid kit, pulling out some gauze, tape, and a disinfecting wipe.

"It's going to-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Just go ahead," I cut Soda off. He press the wipe onto the cut, and I flinch.

"Sorry, sorry," Soda apologizes, giving a sheepish smile.

"I'll get you back on Friday," I joke.

"I'm sure you will," Soda laughs. He finishes wrapping my hand in the gauze.

"I should go help with dinner," I say, standing up.

"He's fine," Soda shrugs.

"Soda."

"DARRY? You need help with the cooking or can I keep Catie hostage in the bathroom?!" Soda shouts.

"Soda," I say, whining slightly.

"I'm good!" Darry shouts back.

"Great," Soda grins, shutting the bathroom door. "Sit," Soda commands, pulling me down to the floor with him. "Hi."

"Hi Soda."

"What's up?"

"Nothing," I shrug.

"How was your day?" Soda asks, staring at me.

"What do you want?"

"I want to know how you're doing, because you're not talking."

"I'm talking right now."

"About, you know." Does he know? Oh no, Dally must have told everyone. Soda's going to tell me to leave Darry and get out of the house. "Catie, Catie? Catie, why do you look so scared?"

Everybody knows. Everybody knows except for Darry.

Everybody knows.

What am I going to do? I haven't made plans, I don't have any plans.

Soda's going to kicking me out of the house right now, and I don't know what I am going do. Where can I go? I need to go somewhere, right? I have no friends, or family. My parents hate me. Darry hates me. His brothers hate me. Everyone hates me.

I need to make a plan. Where can I go? Where can I go?

I have nowhere to go. Absolutely, no where to go. I'm going to be homeless. I'm going to be homeless and hated by everyone before my twenty-first birthday.

Everyone knows and they hate me.

"Catie?"

When did I close my eyes? I don't know. I can't tell. I open my eyes to see Soda staring at me. We are on the floor. Why are we on the floor again?

"Catie, please stop crying, please?" Soda asks.

Crying, crying, I was crying. I go to touch my face, but Soda is holding both of my hands.

"Catie?" I shake my head, trying to get my hands free, but Soda's not letting go. "Catie, look at me, please Catie."

I look up at Soda. We are both sitting on the bathroom floor, his back is against the door.

"Cate?"

"Soda, open up! I gotta piss!" Dally shouts, banging on the door. I shut my eyes again, on purpose this time. My heart starts beating faster and faster. "Soda!" Go away, Go away, go away. I can't breathe.

I tear my hands away from Soda's, placing them over my ears, blocking out the sounds around me.

Breathe, breathe, breathe.

Breathe.

I know I need to calm down, but I can't. My heart won't stop flying, but I want it too.

I need to slow down. I need to slow down.

1,2 breath in. 3,4 breath out.

1,2,3,4. 1,2,3,4. 1,2,3,4.

I don't know how long I count, but it's until my heart isn't in my ears, and my lungs aren't on fire.

I should open my eyes, but a large part of me doesn't want to know what has gone on around me. A large part, very large part of me.

"Catie?" Someone asks. Darry, Darry I think. "Catie cat, can you please look at me?"

I open my eyes, I'm staring at my legs, crossed in front of me.

"Is she okay?" Steve, maybe, asks. A hand comes into my line of sight, Darry's hand. I grab onto it. I find Darry's other hand, so I'm holding onto to both. He grounds me.

"Catie, listen to me ok? We're going to move into the living room, there's more room there, okay?" I think I nod in response to Darry. I feel him lift me up, and I focus in on him and only him. I think we're sitting on the couch. I press my face into his chest, listening to his heartbeat, and trying to match it with mine.

"Darry?" Soda asks.

"I think she's going to be okay," I feel Darry say.

"What happened?" Steve asks.

"Soda?" Darry adds.

"I'm not sure. I fixed her hand, and then I asked her about her day. I wanted to see if she would talk about whatever happened yesterday, that has her all..."

"Does anyone have any ideas? Did anyone say anything at the council?" Darry asks while running his hands through my hair.

"Why does it matter? I bet she's just crying all the time for attention," _he_ says. I cling to Darry just a little bit more. _His_ voice makes me sick.

"Catie's not like that," Soda defends for me.

"Last night, she said something about it not being safe," Steve answers Darry's question.

"Safe? Why wouldn't it be safe?" Two-bit asks. Darry keeps playing with my hair, it's starting to make me tired.

"I don't know, maybe someone threatened her," Steve adds.

"She didn't look injured," Soda puts in.

"Besides that shiner on her face," Two-bit comments.

"She's just as jumpy as Johnny was," Steve says.

"Johnny is. It would only be was if Johnny was dead," Darry points out.

"Right, she is as jumpy Johnny," Steve amends.

"I don't see why we are making a fuss about this, if she wants to tell she will, and if she doesn't she won't," _he_ says.

"She's scared Dally, no one deserves to be that scared, not when we can help her," Soda insists.

"You don't even know if you can help her. It's her problem, tough luck on her that something happened. We all have problems."

"Dallas, Soda, be quite, I think she's falling asleep."

 **A/N hullo again! Reviews make updates come faster, so review favorite and follow for more fun stuff.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N fun riddle: who's terrible at updating a story on a regular basis? Answer, me. lol anyway sorry, life gets in the way sometimes. The disclaimer is the same as always.**

"Catie?"

"Hey," I respond, somewhere between being awake and being asleep. "What time is it?" I ask, opening my eyes. Darry is sitting at the end of our bed.

"Just after quarter past one," Darry response.

"The afternoon?"

"Yeah."

"You let me sleep all day?" I ask, sitting up more.

"It looked like you needed the rest," Darry says, "I…, You really scared me, us last night."

"I'm sorry," I say, looking away, I can remember some parts of last night very clearly, but between those spots it's very blurry.

"It's not your fault, at least I don't think so. I think something happened on Tuesday, and its spooked you real bad. But I also think that I can think as much as I want, but no one knows what happened except for you."

I move out of bed, going around the room, looking for something to wear. I wasn't avoiding Dary's unasked question, but I was.

"Catie, can we please talk about this?" Darry asks, not moving from the bed, just watching me.

"Not right now," I answer.

"Why not?" Darry asks, following me into the bathroom.

"Darry."

"Catie."

"Pause," I tell Darry. He looks up, surprised. When we were in highschool, and fought all the time, we had this rule that either of us could pause the fight at any time. This was handy when we had a football game, or a class presentation, or were just tired of fighting right now.

"You can't pause, this isn't something you can pause."

"I said pause Darry, I need to shower, so you need to leave the bathroom," I say, pushing him out of the bathroom. I strip quickly, getting into the shower and turning on the hot water.

"Unpause," Darry says, opening the bathroom door and coming back in.

"Darry, I'm in the shower!"

"You can still talk about this."

"I really don't want to," I tell him, pouring shampoo into my hands.

"Well I really want to."

"Right now?"

"Neither of us is busy right now."

"I'm in the shower," I argue, rinsing my hair.

"You can still talk."

"You're being impossible."

"So are you."

"How am I being impossible?" I ask, "Pause, I need to get out and get dressed, so shoo for a moment," I tell Darry shutting of the water.

"Fine," Darry agrees leaving. I step out of the, and put on the clothes I brought it with me. "Are you done?" Darry asks.

"I guess," I say, working on towelling dry my hair. Darry comes back into the bathroom. He takes the towel from my hand, and starts moving in down my hair, drying it.

"Unpause," he says, still helping me with my hair. "I think this is something we should talk about."

"I agree, but not right now," I say, grabbing a hairband to tie my hair back.

"Why not?"

"Because, I don't want to, I already said this."

"That's not an answer Catherine," Darry says, following me out of the bathroom and into our bedroom. I begin collecting the dirty clothes from our hamper.

"It's the answer I'm giving right now."

"What does that even mean?" Darry asks, carrying the dirty clothes from our room into the laundry room as I grab Soda's and Pony's hamper from their room.

"It means I don't want to talk about this," I say, moving clothes from hampers into the washer. "Pause, do you need anything else to go in this wash?" I ask.

"Let me ask Soda," Darry says, walking to the living room. "Hey little buddy, do you need anything washed besides what's in your room?"

"My DX shirt, wait I left that it Steve's car."

"Of course you did, anything else?"

"Nope, are you and Catie do that weird fighting, not fighting thing?"

"None of your business," Darry says before returning the laundry room.

"Fighting not fighting thing?" I ask smirking slightly.

"He doesn't know what he's talking about, that boy is crazy," Darry shrugs.

"No crazier than you," I reply, putting the last of the clothes in the washer, and starting the load.

"Unpause?" Darry asks. I nod, heading into the kitchen.

"I just want to know what happened last night," Darry says.

"You know more than I do, I can barely remember last night!" I lean against the kitchen counter, Darry across the kitchen leaning against the doorway.

"What do you mean I know more?"

"I can't remember what happened last night! Maybe bits and pieces, but not everything!"

"Fine this is what happened; you cut your hand cooking, Soda went to help you out, and next thing I know is you are sobbing on the bathroom floor, not looking at anyone, no responding to anyone, not saying a thing! No one has any idea what happened that has you all shook up, and you're not talking!"

"That's not true!"

"Oh, so you're going to start talking now?" Darry asks expectantly.

"No," I answer stubbornly.

"Then what isn't true? The fact that you completely broke down, because I'm pretty sure that happened."

"Darry," I say warningly.

"Tell me what part I have wrong about last night."

"Somebody knows," I say, less heatedly.

"What?" Darry asks, looking confused. "Who knows?"

"I have other friends."

"Wait! Catie has friends?!" Soda shouts from the living room.

"Pause," Darry and I say at the same time.

"Sodapop Curtis, I can have friends if I want to," I scold, going into the living room where he and Steve were sat playing cards.

"I'm not saying you can't, I'm saying you don't," Soda says smirking.

"Besides us of course," Steve adds.

"I have other friends, tell them Darry."

"I'm going to have to side with Soda on this one babe, you haven't talked to anyone from high school, since high school."

"That's not true."

"When was the last time you saw Baby?" Darry asks.

"I, umm, well, you see, it's been a while, let me think," I stall, trying to remember the last time I saw Baby. The guys start laughing. "No, I got it. It was Right before Christmas."

"Two years ago," Darry adds.

"Shut up, maybe I've made friends."

"Why haven't we met them?" Steve asks.

"Maybe I don't want them to meet you fools."

"Fools, who you callin a fool?" Soda asks, jumping up, but tripping over the coffee table and landing on his face.

"You," I say looking down at him. "You're the fool I don't want my secret friends meeting."

"Come on Catie, the ladies find me charming."

"Sure, charming's the word they use," Steve adds sarcastically

"The ladies love me," Soda argues, grabbing Steve's ankle and dragging him into a wrestling match.

"Who's this friend?" Darry asks as we watch the boys wrestle.

"Really?" I ask. "I'm allowed to have my own friends."

"I'm not saying you're not. I just want to know who."

"You don't know her," I assure him, moving slightly as Steve and Soda roll towards us.

"Can I meet her?"

"Maybe, but I think we have a lot going on right now, I don't think you want to add socializing to it."

"You had time for it, apparently."

"Well, I'm unemployed now, remember?"

"Is this why you're so upset?"

"We are paused right now," I remind him. Darry grabs my hand and brings us back into the kitchen. I take up my post next to the sink, and he goes to the opposite wall.

"Unpause; is that why you're so upset?"

"No."

"Than why?"

"I don't want to talk about it, can we just doubt it."

"I'm not just bringing this up because I love fighting with you. I'm worried about you. I don't know what got you so upset, and I have no idea if it's going to happen again, or even what to do if it happens again."

"Do whatever you did last night, it seemed to help, even if I can't remember it," I shrug.

"That's what scares me, you were so upset that you can't remember anything."

"I'm fine Darry, I promise," I say, trying to placate him.

"Like hell you are! Catie, I just want to know how I can help!"

"I don't know if you can!"

"So I am just supposed to let you be haunted by whatever it is that's bothering you! That's bullshit, and you know it!"

"I don't know what you can do!"

"Tell me what's wrong!"

"That's not going to fix things!"

"It might, you never know!"

"I know!"

"How?"

"I know you Darry. I know you better than I know myself at times, and I know that you don't want to hear this."

"Hear what?"

"Please just forget about it."

"I don't think I can ever forget seeing, that."

"Well try all right?" I ask, pushing off from the counter and walking away. I didn't want this conversation to continue.

"Where are you going?" Darry asks. I shrug, not saying anything. I know that giving Darry the cold shoulder was immature, but I just needed a minute to think, and take a break.

"Oh come on Catie, don't do this."

I shake my head, sitting down on the couch next to Soda. I lean against him, looking at his hand of cards. Not bad, but if Steve's cheating, Soda has no chance of winning.

"Catie?" Darry asks. I don't look up, or reply.

"You're gonna end up killing him," Steve comments. Darry has left the room, I don't know where.

"I-" I stars but Soda cuts me off.

"Catie, we know you don't want to talk about whatever happened, we just want to know how we can help."

I bite my lip, contemplating if I should be saying anything.

"Just don't leave me alone," I say finally. Soda and Steve look up, surprised.

"Okay, okay," Soda says, going back to the card game. Steve follows his lead, and I continue resting my head on Soda's shoulder.

The boys play through five or six games, all while talking about some car that just came into the shop.

The phone starts ringing, and both Soda and I rise to go answer it, but Darry beats us there.

"Hello?" Darry says. Soda positions himself on one side of Darry, and I take the other. "Pony? Pony where are you? Are you okay? Are they okay?"

Soda and I share a look, wishing we knew the other half of the conversation.

"Okay, okay, we'll be right there, just stay there okay?" Darry says before hanging up.

"He's at the hospital with Johnny and Dally," Darry says, walking past us, locating his car keys and jacket. Soda springs into action, asking a million questions as well as running around the house looking for socks, and shoes and his jacket.

"Johnny?" I ask, thinking back to something Ponyboy said the other week. Johnny's phone got turned off when his folks didn't pay the bills. If Johnny was injured and the hospital tried to call his parents, they wouldn't know.

"Yeah, all three of them got themselves into the hospital, we got to go," Darry says, walking back into the kitchen.

"Johnny mention that his phone line got turned off, his parent's aren't going to know. Someone should go and tell them."

"Catie, that's sweet and all, but we really need to get to the hospital."

"I'll take her," Steve volunteers. "We'll be right behind you guys, we can swing around and see if they're home."

"You sure?" Soda asks.

"Yeah, it won't take long."

"Be careful," Darry adds before rushing out the door with Soda.

"You ready?" Steve asks.

"Yeah," I say, following Steve outside. We get into his car and head over to the Cade's house. I have only seen Mr. Cade once or twice, and I had never seen his wife.

"We have to say something, right?"

"If it was me I wouldn't bother with these lowlifes, we are more of family for Johnnycakes then them."

"But if something was wrong, I would like to know if it was you guys."

"Well, there you go, go and do you good deed," Steve says parking the car.

"Oh, you're not coming with me?"

"Of course I'm coming with you, with your luck that bastard would end up knocking you out."

"You're a real knight in shining armour aren't you," I joke, walking up the steps of the porch. The house is obviously rundown. Paint is peeling on the walls, and a piece of cardboard fills one of the window pains.

"Let's get this over with," Steve says, banging on the front door, then taking a step back.

"No one here," Steve says, pulling me away from the door.

"Wait, just one more minute?" I ask.

"Catie, there all at the hospital by now."

"Who's at the hospital?" Mrs. Cade asks, opening the door. She was just in a bathrobe, with her dark hair that matched Johnny's piled loosely on top of her head. Her skin was paler than Johnny's, making the dark bruises even more prominent.

"Oh, hello," I start. "My name's Catie, and we just found out that Johnny and Ponyboy are in the hospital, and-"

"You liar!" Mrs. Cade shouts, swinging out at me, but Steve reacts faster, grabbing me by the waist and pulling me backwards.

"Catie let's go," Steve says, grabbing my wrist and guiding us down the porch.

"But-,"

"Shhhs," Steve interrupts, pushing me towards the car and going around to the other side. I get in a wait for Steve to explain.

"Parent's like that, once they get started, they just want something to hit, doesn't matter what, or who," Steve explains, driving towards the hospital. He's gripping the steering wheel so hard that I can see his knuckles turning white.

"I know that, and I think I can stand up for myself."

"Just let this one go, okay?!" Steve asks, sounding agitated. I nod, looking out the window as we speed towards the hospital. Darry didn't exactly say what happened, so I needed to prepare myself for the worst. Johnny could be dead, and Dallas could be alive. Don't think like that, don't wish people dead, I scold myself.

"Here we are," Steve says, putting the car in park.

"Here we are," I echo.

"No matter what is going on in there, we have to keep the brothers together," Steve adds. I nod, getting out of the car. We walk towards the hospital entrance, not know what we would see inside.

Inside it is easy to find Darry, as he is shouting at one of the nurses. I break away from Steve, who is heading towards a cluster of chairs. I walk up to Darry, placing my hand on top of his.

"I'm sorry, I can only let family members into the intensive care unit."

"Dar," I say, breaking Darry's focus. He nods, and walks away from the nurse. "How bad is it?" I ask as we walk towards the other boys.

"Pony's okay, maybe a little shaken up from the fire but okay. They aren't saying anything about Dally or Johnny."

"Oh."

"Catie?" Pony asks, standing up. He was covered in ash and his hair was now blonde, but he seemed to be mostly okay.

"Oh baby," I say, wrapping my arms around him. I think of Soda, Steve and Two-bit as friends, or Darry's friends, but Pony has always been a little brother to me. When Darry and I first started dating, Pony was still in elementary school, unlike all of the other boys who were scattered throughout junior high. He's always going to be the baby of the group even if he hates it.

"Family only, that's what they're saying," Darry says sitting down. I sit down next to him while Soda, Steve and Pony sit across from us.

"But we are their family, that's not fair," Soda argues.

"I know that little buddy, but they're insistent, family only."

"They won't know if one of us is actually family though," Steve says, looking directly at me.

"What?" I ask.

"Oh Catie, please, you have to," Soda begs.

"What?" I ask again.

"They're not going to ask for a driver's license, you have the blonde hair like Dal, I'm sure you could go up and say you are his sister and they'd have to let you in," Steve says.

"Oh no, I couldn't," I counter when I want to say I can't. There is no way I can go in there and check up of Dallas.

"It's not a bad idea," Darry agrees.

"I doubt it will work," I argue, but from the looks on the boys faces, especially Pony's I'm going to have to.

"Just give it a try Catie," Soda encourages.

"They aren't going to let me see Johnny."

"Dally knows what happened," Pony says, "He went in after Johnny, he'll tell you."

"Fine," I agree, standing up. Do it for Ponyboy, do it for him, I tell myself while walking to the nurses station. "Excuse me? Excuse me? Miss, I'm looking for my brother? His friends said he was here?" I ask one of the nurses.

"What's his name sweetheart?" she asks.

"Dallas Winston," I say, hating myself.

"He's in room 0107, in the ICU."

"Can I see him?"

"Sure, just follow me." The nurse walks out from behind her station and leads me through a set of doors. "Here he is, the doctor should be in soon, but maybe you can get him to settle down."

"I can try," I say, walking into the room. "Hey brother," I force out, waiting for the nurse to leave. Dallas looks up at me sharply, then smirks.

"Sneaking in to see me now Catie? I knew you would come around, come closer babe."

"I'm fine here," I reply, staying close to the door.

"Come on baby, I'm injured, you wouldn't want me to get even more hurt."

"What's wrong with you?"

"Burn my damn arm pulling the idiot kid out of the fire," he shrugs.

"And Johnny?"

"A beam fell on him," Dallas says, looking genuinely concerned for the first time. "He had a lot of burns too, I ain't too sure if he's going to make."

"Pony's okay, I think."

"Only because I saved his ass, now come over here and make me feel better," Dallas demands.

"I think I'll pass," I say, walking out of his room. I take a moment out in the hallway to calm down. He didn't touch me, I remind myself, he didn't hurt me this time. And I said no, and didn't cave, or cry. But Johnny's not okay, people don't fully recover from injuries like that. He's never going to be the same.

I head back towards the waiting room, and Darry meets me somewhere between the doors and the rest of the gang.

"How bad?" Darry asks.

"He's going to be fine, if he's nice to the nurses," I add.

"Johnnycake?"

"It didn't sound that great."

"Just tell me."

"He probably has serious burns, and a beam fell on him. What happened to them?"

"Pony hasn't said anything about what happened, he's mostly been asking about what's been going on at the house."

"What have you said?"

"Don't worry, Steve and Soda have just been talking about the DX, nothing serious. What do we do now?"

"I think we should all go home, I can't imagine what Ponyboy has been through."

"Let's come and talk to them," Darry decides, walking over to the boys. I trail behind. I listen as Darry explains to the gang what's going on with Johnny and Dallas, and that we're going home.

"Catie can ride with me again,"Steve volunteers. "We'll meet you guys back there."

"No detour this time," Darry jokes as we all head for the parking lot. Pony was being uncharacteristically quiet, even for himself.

"No promises," Steve replies. The brothers break away to go to the truck and I continue following Steve to his car.

"How was he?" Steve asks once we are on the road.

"He was himself, just a burn on his arm, nothing big."

"He's going to give those nurses hell tonight."

"I'm sure he is," I agree.

"Can I ask ya something Cate?"

"What is it?"

"You don't want to be alone because you're not safe when you are."

"That's not a question," I point out, avoiding answering. Steve drums against the wheel waiting.

"It's true."

"I don't know Steve, honestly."

"It should get easier now, with Pony back."

"Social workers are going to be on them like crazy," I point out. Pony being back was a blessing and a curse, but at least Darry and I have a backup plan.

"More lying for you then," Steve adds, laughing.

"Yup," I agree. The social workers weren't too fond of the idea of nonfamily living with the boys, especially me. It was easy back when everything first happened, I didn't have a lot of stuff at the house, but now, it's going to be a nightmare to try and hide everything. Hopefully they didn't try and do any surprise visits.

"You coming Catie?" Steve asks getting out of the car.

"Oh, yeah," I say, snapping out of my thoughts. I follow Steve up the driveway and into the house. Soda and Darry were sitting across from eachother at the kitchen table.

"Where's the kid?" Steve asks as we join them.

"He fell asleep on the way back."

"What happened to him?" I ask.

"He hasn't said, he just wants to know what's been happening here."

"Well nothing exciting has been happening here," I reason.

"Sure Catie, nothing exciting at all as happened here," Soda says sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"Well nothing Pony needs to know about," I amend.

"I agree with Catie on that point," Darry says finally, "Pony's still a kid, and he's been through a lot, he doesn't need more on his plate."

"What about the rumble?" Steve asks.

"He's not going to fight," Darry decides.

"He's going to want to fight," Soda argues.

"He's in no shape to fight."

"We don't know that yet," I point out. "He could be just fine."

"You want him to fight?" Darry asks, turning to me.

"What? I didn't say that! I said we don't know how bad off he is, so we can't say he can't until we have more information."

"The rumble isn't until tomorrow night, we can watch him tomorrow and see how he is," Soda suggests.

"We all have work Soda, we can't afford to take a day off to babysit him."

"I can watch him," I volunteer. "I'm not going to be doing anything tomorrow anyway."

"Oh, no secrete friend visits?" Soda jokes, leaning back in his chair.

"You just wish you had other friends," I retort.

"He don't need other friends," Steve argues.

"I don't know little buddy, you might want to look for some new ones," Darry joins in.

"You just wish you had friends like me," Steve points out.

"I got friends better than you, plus my friend lives with me," Darry points out.

"Who?" Soda asks.

"Me, you fool," I chip in.

"What, you two are friends? I thought you guys hated each other with all of you're fighting."

"Well you thought wrong little buddy."

"Wait, shut it for a minute," I interrupt. I thought I heard coughing, or something, coming from Pony's room, but I wasn't sure. Until it happened again. "I got it," I say, standing up and going to the boys room. Pony was on his side, still asleep, but coughing. I sat on the edge of his bed, as he tossed and turned.

"Shh, baby, it's okay," I hum, reaching out to check is temperature. He's burning up, and as I pull my hand away I notice my fingers are covered in soot. Of course the boys didn't think of getting the ash off of him once he fell asleep. I make my way quickly to the bathroom and grab a damp washcloth. I go back to the boys room, taking post on the bed next to Ponyboy. I work on cleaning, and cooling his face, all while humming a tune. I don't really remember where I learned it, but it somehow felt appropriate now. Pony stops tossing around eventually, but he still seems distressed.

"Oh baby, what happened to you?" I ask quietly to me self. Pony just turns over, making a small noise. I wish I knew what happened to him and Johnny, it would make it so much easier. We could have helped them so much if they just came back here. Or if Pony didn't run. We could have taken some time and talked things over. He's not going to tell us about what happened up there anytime soon, I can just tell. It's going to be like pulling teeth, just to get something out of him.

"Catie, do you want anything to eat?" Darry asks from the doorway.

"I'm fine, do you need me to get you guys something?" I ask, standing up.

"We ate whatever was in the fridge from the past few nights," Darry shrugs.

"You should've let me make something."

"But then you could be down a couple a fingers," Darry points out grabbing my bandaged hand. "How is your hand?"

"It's fine, we've all slipped up with a knife before."

"I feel like our definition of slipping up with a knife, and yours is very different."

"Is it?" I ask, following Darry back to the kitchen.

"Are you sure your hand is okay?" Darry asks again.

"It's just a cut."

"It was a deep cut, I think I saw bone," Soda adds.

"Let me see it," Darry says, holding out his hand.

"It's nothing to worry about," I say while showing him my hand. There really is no point on fighting Darry on the little stuff, and if Soda and Pony could learn that the house would be ten times quieter. Darry takes it, and starts unwrapping the bandage.

"Jesus Soda, what did you do to her hand?" Darry asks.

"I didn't do nothing," Soda defends.

"Apparently, it's still bleeding,"

"No it's not," Soda and I say at the same time. I look down at my hand, and it is still bleeding a bit.

"Oh, well it's still bleeding," I say, moving my hand this way and that.

"You should let me stitch that up," Darry suggests.

"You are horrible at stitches, I'm not going to let you take a needle to my hand."

"Come on Catie."

"Give it another day Darry, it will be fine," I assure him.

"Are you sure?"

"Ehh," I shrug, looking at my hand.

"Catie?"

"It should be fine in a day or two," I reason, "Right?"

"Right," Soda agrees.

"Thank you Soda, see Darry it's fine."

"Whatever you think," Darry sighs.

"Darry?" I ask.

"Yeah?"

"Can you get me a new bandage?"

"Yeah, no problem," Darry says, walking to the bathroom.

"Where'd Steve go?" I ask Soda.

"Home, I think," Soda says, looking through the fridge.

"What are you looking for?"

"Food," Soda says, taking some chocolate cake out.

"If you finish that, you are making the next one," I warn.

"Don't say that Catie, if he makes it, we all suffer," Darry comments, coming back in.

"It ain't that bad when I make it."

"Yeah, but for some reason when you make it, there's no sugar left in my kitchen," I add, holding out my hand for Darry.

"Is this too tight?" Darry asks while wrapping my hand. I shake my head no.

"After that, you should get to bed Soda," Darry says.

"What why? It's still crazy early."

"You two are going to work tomorrow, and none of us have slept much this week," I respond, starting the dishes the boys left in the sink from their dinner.

"What are you doing tomorrow? With Pony?" Darry asks.

"I think we will stay around the house, but it all depends on how's he feeling."

"You think he will be able to go to school on Monday?" Darry asks.

"Don't push him to go back if he's not ready." Soda points on, handing me his plate. "Plus, Catie is here anyway, so we wouldn't have to miss work."

"He can't just skive off school because something happened."

"You can't make him go back before he's ready."

"I can make him do whatever I want," Darry says.

"Guys, guys, let's take it back a minute," I intervene. "Darry, Soda's right, if he's in no shape to go back on Monday for whatever reason, we shouldn't force him to go. But Soda, Darry has a point, getting back into a routine might be beneficial for Pony. We won't know what Pony will need until he talks to us okay? Now, let's all try and get an early night because you two have work in the morning," I finish, hanging up the dish towel. Soda nods, and then makes for his room.

"Thanks," Darry says, grabbing the last cups and putting in the cabinet.

"You two can't bicker like that over Pony, especially when Pony's around."

"I know, it just-" Darry starts, but I cut him off.

"I know, let's go," I say grabbing his hand and turning off the kitchen light. I lead us to the bedroom.

"Are you okay?" Darry asks suddenly, as we are getting ready to sleep.

"What do you mean?" I ask, turning around. Darry is on the left side of the bed, like always.

"You know what I mean," he counters, pulling me closer. I rest my head on his chest.

"Let's not right now, please Darry."

"I worry about you."

"I know," I sigh, intertwining my hand in his.

"Can you tell me something? Anything?"

"What do you want to know?" I ask.

"Was it something that happened at the funeral?"

"No, the funeral went okay, may better than I expected," I answer truthfully.

"Did-?"'

"No more, okay?" I ask, racing patterns on his hand. "Not tonight."

"Tomorrow?"

"Maybe, depends on how the days go."

"We will see how it goes then," Darry says, sitting up slightly to turn off the light. We settle back down, his arm around my hip, and my head on his chest.

His brothers, especially Ponyboy, might not think that Darry is understanding or even kind sometimes, but he truly is. Darry has always been extremely understanding, always listening to me or his team mates without pushing too far. It's one of the things I've always admired about him, especially when I was trying to wrangle the girls on the cheer squad. Its surprising how far listening can get you.

 **A/N Reviews make me happy, and make me write faster, so review, favorite, follow and review again.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N hey y'all. I know updates are random at best and nearly never at worse. But if you have been keeping up with the story, I'm sure you can guess what happens in this chapter. Some might suggests tissues to go along. Anyway, enjoy reading and try not to be mad at me.**

From my perch on the kitchen counter I had a pretty good view of everyone as they got ready for the rumble. Soda and Steve were at the kitchen table, alternating between cards and arm wrestling. Two-bit was out on a beer run, apparently having already drink through our supply.

"What are you thinking about?" Darry asks, stepping between my legs.

"Hmmm, nothing really," I shrug, rolling the beer bottle between my hands. Darry grabs the bottle and takes a swig before handing it back to me. "Oh, I'm your cup holder now?" I sass.

"Exactly," Darry grins. Darry and I used to go out all the time in highschool, practically every weekend. We called most of our drinking and partying off when he got custody. Rumbles and holidays, and we'd tried to keep most of it from Pony.

"Can I say I don't want you to go tonight?" I ask, taking a drink. Beer wasn't my favorite, but it was what was around, and easy to get. Back in high school when there was a big party, most of us on the cheer squad would pitch in and share a bottle of wine.

"You can say it, but I doubt it will do anything," Soda says.

"Why are you so against rumbles anyway?" Steve asks.

"You already know that," I counter.

"Oh right, you don't like seeing Darry's face messed up," Soda teases.

"I don't like seeing anyone's face messed up, as you put it," I counter.

"Than why aren't you begging us not to fight?" Two-bit asks, setting the beer he managed to get on the counter.

"Oh Two-bit, please don't fight, it would destroy me to see get beat up," I fake, trying not to laugh.

"That's what I like to hear," Two-bit grins.

"Soda, when'd you start shaving?" Pony asks from the bathroom. I take another sip of beer to stop myself from laughing, this can't be heading anywhere good.

"When I was fifteen," Soda response.

"When did Darry?" Pony asks.

"When he was thirteen, why figuring you're gonna grow a beard before the rumble?" Soda teases, throwing down some of his cards.

"Thirteen, really?" I ask, pulling Darry closer with my legs.

"It's not a big deal," Darry shrugs.

"You were in junior high when you were thirteen," I point out.

"What's your point?"

"Please tell me you weren't one of those obnoxious guys that bragged about that," I plead.

"He was," Two-bit butts in.

"Do you like fights Soda?" Pony asks coming into the kitchen.

"Yeah I like fights," Soda says, grunting as he arm wrestled Steve.

"How come?" Pony asks

"It's a contest, like a dance or a drag race, or something like that" Soda replies. Darry starts unbuttoning his work shirt, but I swat his hands away doing it myself. Two-bit whistles, wriggling his eyebrows.

"When I get in a fight I want to stomp the life out of-," Steve says, that last part of his sentence gets cut off by me laughing too much at Two-bit. I get Darry's shirt all the way off and he breaks away to find his 'lucky' shirt. Or that's what I call it. He wears the same shirt to every rumble. It was probably my fault since I mentioned one time how great he looked in it.

"Why do you like fights Darry?" Pony asks. I don't know what was with Pony tonight, being so weird about this rumble. Normally he is getting just as jazzed up as the other guys.

"He likes to show off his muscles," Soda says, laughing.

"He likes to show off for Catie," Steve says at the same time, winking at me. I laugh more, waiting to see how Darry answers.

"Hey, I'm going to show them off on you little buddy if you get any mouthier," Darry warns, putting on his shirt. "Hey Pony, I don't know if you ought to be in this rumble."

I sigh, making a face. I told Darry that Pony would be fine, that he spent the morning with me and the afternoon with Two-bit.

"What was that?" Steve asks, dropping his empty bottle in the sink.

"What was what?" I ask.

"That face."

"Didn't want battle of the brothers tonight."

"It ain't that bad," Two-bit shrugs.

"You don't live with them."

"We practically do," Steve counters, pulling me off of the counter.

"Hey!" I protest.

"You should come with us," Two-bit says.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"There's going to be a huge bonfire, and everyone hangs out."

"Mmhmm sure, and then I'm going to get caught in a fight," I point out, finishing the beer in my hand.

"You can leave once the socs show," Two-bit points out.

"Yeah Catie, you can split once they show."

"Y'all aren't going to let this go, are you?"

"Nope," Steve smirks. Darry choose that moment to go running out the door screaming.

"Come on Catie," Two-bit says, dragging me along.

All of the boys were hooting and hollering, doing flips and jumps off of things. It took Darry and I nearly a whole summer to teach them how to do a flip. It started with Darry spotting me as I worked on tricks for cheerleading, with the help of his dad, but then Soda wanted to learn too.

"Come on Catie, do something fancy," Steve begs. Once Steve said it, all of the guys joined in. I get a running start before doing a roundoff to a back handspring. I land with my arms down, cheerleader style. Two-bit takes a running start, trying to go for the same thing, but landing on his butt instead.

"I'm good, I'm good," Two-bit says, struggling to stand up. I go over, grabbing his hands and pulling him up.

"I'ma greaser! I'm a JD and a hood!" Soda shouts, "I blacken the name of our fair city. I beat up people. I rob gas stations. I am a menace to society. Man, do I have fun!"

"Greaser, greaser, greaser," Steve adds in, "Oh victim of the environment, underprivileged, rotten, no-count hood!"

"Juvenile delinquent, you're no good!" Darry shouts. As if Darry was ever considered a juvenile delinquent.

"Get thee hence, white trash," Two adds, trying to sound posh and stuck up, "I am a soc. I am the privilege and the well-dressed. I drive fancy cars, throw beer blasts, break windows at fancy parties."

"And what do you do for fun?" Pony asks.

"I jump greasers!" Two shouts, running towards the lot.

"What are you doing here?" Darry asks, picking me up from behind.

"I'm going to fight," I joke.

"Like hell your going to fight," Darry says putting me down, but keeping his arms around me.

"I think I could take them," I say, trying to sound genuine.

"Listen, Soda, you and Pony, if the fuzz show, you beat it out of here. Try and get back to the house with Catie. The rest of us can only get jailed. You two can get sent to a boys home."

"Nobody in this neighborhood gonna call the fuzz, they know what'd happen if the did," Steve says. That's the first thing you learn living around here, you mind your business and don't get involve with other people's drama. Nothing like where I grew up.

"All the same, you two blow it at the first sign of trouble. Get back to the house with Catie. Ya here me?" Darry asks.

"You sure you don't need an amplifier?" Soda asks. I look over my shoulder to see Soda sticking out his tongue at Darry and I.

"What's Catie going to be able to do? S'not like she can stop the fuzz?" Pony asks.

"Half of the goddamn fuzz know her," Steve points out. It's true, a lot of the police department live in my older neighborhood. Chances are if they came by looking for someone, they'd skip over the house if I answered the door.

"So?" Pony asks.

"Just get back to the house if something happens," Darry says as we step into the lot.

"Bring your girl to fight for you?" Some hood asks, walking up to us.

"Hey, layoff of them, they're newlyweds," Tim Shepard joins in.

"Shut it Shepard," Darry says.

"One day Curtis, one day," Tim smirks, walking off towards Pony. The older part of Tim's gang sticks around though.

"I heard the fuzz pulled your girl down to the station," one of the guys says. I can't quite remember his name, but it's either Joe or Benjamen.

"I heard she was also at the fuckers funeral, what digs?" most of the questions are directed at Darry even though I'm standing right there.

"Don't y'all remember, she ain't from here, she's a soc by birth," A third one adds in.

"Not a soc," I speak up. I was use to a lot of gossip going around, but I really couldn't take being called a soc.

"Where are you from then sweetheart?"

"Oakland Street, right by Thornden park."

"Isn't that by all them fuzz."

"Ya, I think so."

Luckily wherever this conversation was heading was cut off by Tim.

"Hey, Curtis," Shepard shouts. Darry and I both turn, and I can see Pony and Soda look up as well.

"Which one?" Soda yells back.

"The oldest one, come over here."

"Catie, looks like they're here," Darry says to me, looking towards the other side of the lot.

"Please, be careful."

"You should get back to the house before the notice you," Darry says, not looking away from the soc cars. I pull on his arm, bringing his attention to me.

"Darry, I'm serious, be careful."

"I will be, now go," Darry says, pushing me back towards the house. I walk back to the house, making it under the porch just as it starts raining. I hear the yells when the rumble starts. It's a waiting game now. I go around the house, cleaning up plates and bottles. After getting most of the mess put away, I start getting out our first aid things. I fill a few ziploc bags with a mix of ice and salt and put them in the freezer. I don't know what to expect really, so it's hard to prepare.

It's probably no longer than a half hour before they return, but it felt like hours. Once I hear them, I head out onto the porch. Steve and Two-bit have their arms slung around each other, but I can't tell who is supporting who. Soda and Darry are farther back, almost a block away.

"We won," Two-bit says coming up the porch steps, but I keep looking out, waiting for Darry to get close enough to see clearly through the rain.

"Catie, listen," Two-bit says, pulling my arm to look at him. He looks roughed up, with blood covering part of his face, I'm guessing from a broken nose. There are also bruises covering his arms. I look past him to Steve, who is leaning against the house. He has some cuts on his face, and was nursing his side. My guess would be someone got his ribs good.

"What?" I ask, confused.

"This rumble was rougher than a lot of them have been in the past, there was a lot riding on this one," Two-bit explains. "We probably look a lot worse than it is, but you don't need to freak, or worry, it's nothing serious."

"What happened to Darry?" I ask, seeing through what Two was trying to say. There is really one reason I would freak out, and that's if Darry was seriously hurt. I was used to all of the other guys, including Soda, coming back roughed up some nights. It's just what happened around here. Darry and Pony stayed out of it for the most part though.

"Just remember it's not as bad as it look Catie," Steve says wincing. I bite my lip not knowing what to say. It has to be pretty bad if Steve and Two are trying to tell me not to worry. I turn back to the road as Darry and Soda get to the gate. Soda opens the gate, holding it open for Darry. He's walking weird, holding his shoulder. I move forward, to go out into the yard and see what's wrong, but Two catches my arm, stopping me.

"Just wait Catie," Two says. I don't fight his grip on my arm, I just keep my eyes focused on Darry.

"Did you-?" Soda asks, coming up the stairs first.

"Yeah," Steve says, cutting Soda off. So they planned someone coming up and talking to me. I try to steady myself, saying that it was only skins, and it can't be that bad. He's still walking, and it was only skins. It can't be that bad.

Once Darry gets up onto the porch I can instantly spot what's wrong. His shoulder is dislocated. This happened once at football practice, and the coach was able to set it back in, but warned since he wasn't actually a doctor it might pop back out again.

I take a deep breath steadying myself. This could be worse. I was there when the coach popped his shoulder back in, I could probably get one of the guys to set it.

"Okay," I say, mostly to myself, "Let's go inside and get out of the rain." I head inside first, going straight to the kitchen to grab the stuff I set out. Now that the shock had worn off, I was a bit mad at Darry. How could he be stupid enough to dislocate his shoulder. He knew this could happen again.

I go back to the living room and drop everything on the coffee table. I turn my back on Darry, deciding to tend to Two or Steve first. I grab some gauze and rubbing alcohol and had them to Two so he can get the blood off of his face.

"Why isn't she freakin' out?" Soda asks slowly. I huff in annoyance, not looking over at him or Darry. It's not like I freak out every time Darry get's injured. Or I haven't freaked out in a while. When he was still playing football, I would get so nervous during games. Especially away games when I wasn't also on the field.

"She looks pissed," Steve comments, looking between me and the brothers. Two-bit finishes getting the blood off of his face, and his nose is obviously broken.

"How bad?" Darry asks. I roll my eyes, he can't be serious.

I kneel down in front of Two. I set both of my hands on on his face in a triangle, around his nose. I bring my hands down quickly without warning, straightening his nose.

"Very," Two-bit answers. I grab a couple of tylenols, and hand them to him.

"Catie, come here," Darry says, but I ignore him. I can't deal with him right now. I go over to Steve who is laying on the couch.

"Shirt off," I tell Steve.

"How bad is it doc?" Steve smirks, pulling his shirt up. His torso is covered in bruises, with most of it coming from his left side. I sit on the edge of the couch, tenderly feeling his ribs.

"Fuck," Steve hisses.

"Not broken, but definitely cracked," I say, grabbing a wrap from the table. Steve sits up a bit so I can wrap his ribs to keep them from shifting too much. Once finished I let him lay back down and I had him some tylenol.

I turn around, sending a glare towards Darry and Soda.

"Where's Pony?" I ask. I will be even more pissed if they just left him in the lot.

"I saw Dal drag him off into some soc car," Two-bit answer.

"Great, just great," I say sarcastically.

"Listen, Catie," Darry starts.

"I really don't want to hear it," I cut him off.

"You know how to get his shoulder back in right?" Soda asks.

"Sure."

"Well?" Soda asks.

"I can't do it," I tell Soda.

"Catie, you can be mad, but you can't leave his arm hanging like that," Steve says.

"I'm telling you I can't do it," I repeat.

"She's right," Darry speaks up.

"You said she could do it," Soda says, spinning around to Darry.

"I said she knew how to do it, she saw coach put it back in. She's not strong enough to actually get in back in," Darry explains. "Right?"

I nod in response. There was no physical way I could get his arm in without causing unnecessary pain for both of us. It was already going to hurt like hell to get in back in.

"Soda, you are going to have to do it," I say to him. "Floor or bedroom, your choice."

"Let's just do it here," Darry shrugs. I head to our bedroom grabbing a few pillows. I bring them back as Darry is getting on the floor.

"Soda you are going to have to take his arm and pull it up and outwards, like a 45 degree angle. It should slide back into place."

"What are you going to do?" Soda asks. I sit down on the floor on Darry's other side.

"I'm going to keep him from moving too much," I say, placing both of my forearms on his chest. I lean forward, adding more weight.

"What?" Soda asks looking confused.

"Grab his arm, and start pulling it slowly, it should slide back into place," I explain again. Soda nods, grabbing Darry's arm. I watch as Soda pulls up and back waiting to hear the dull clunk of the bone going back into the socket. Once Darry relaxes I know it's fully back in. I stand and go into the kitchen. From the freezer I grab the bags of ice I made and bring them back to the guys. I hand two of them to Steve and Two, and fling the third one at Darry.

"Catie," Darry says, catching it easily with his other hand. I stare at him not saying anything, hands on my hips. Darry doesn't seem to know what to say either. I turn on my heel and go and sit on the floor next to Two. Darry could be an idiot all he liked, but that doesn't mean I have to deal with it.

The screen door slams open and Ponyboy walks in, almost in a daze.

"Where have you been?" Darry asks, turning to Pony.

"Pony what's wrong?" I ask softly. Something happened between now and the end of the rumble that really shook Pony. And if he was Dally, I can't imagine what he might have seen.

"Johnny… he's dead," Pony chokes out. Everything feels frozen. If Pony is telling the truth, and Johnny died, I don't even know. I grab Two-bit's arm, using him to anchor myself. I didn't go to the hospital today with Two and Pony because I didn't want to see Dal, but I skipped out on Johnny too. And now he's gone.

I feel tears start to build up, but I try and blink them away.

"Dallas is gone," Pony says, barely above a whisper, "He ran out like the devil was after him. He's gonna blow up. He couldn't take."

"So he finally broke," Two-bit says, "So even Dally has a breaking point."

No, Dally broke a long time ago. This is just the first the guys are seeing it. Pony starts shaking, looking like he is going to fall over.

Darry and Soda start whispering to themselves. I rest my head on Two-bit shoulder, feeling mostly exhausted. So much has happened in the past week, it feel unreal. How could anything else happen at this point? Haven't we gone through enough?

"Ponyboy, you look sick. Sit down," Soda says, moving towards Ponyboy.

Ponyboy backs up, looking terrified. I can only imagine this is what I looked like to the guys the past few nights. I bit my lips, wondering what Pony is going to do.

"I'm okay. I don't want to sit," Pony lies. Darry moves forward, and Pony spits out, "Don't touch me." Pony backs up even further, looking like he might fall over at any minutes.

The phone rings, making me jump. Two-bit looks over at me concerned, but I just shake my head. Darry heads to the kitchen, answering the phone. The rest of us remain silent, there isn't really much we can say. Soda keeps inching towards Pony, waiting to catch him if he falls over. I know Steve and Two-bit are watching me, but I just stay focused on Pony.

"It was Dally," Darry says, "He phoned from a booth. He's just robbed a grocery store and the cops are after him. We gotta hide him. He'll be in the lot in a minute."

There a second of stillness before everyone is moving. Darry sprints out of the house, with Soda and Pony right behind him. Two-bit, Steve and I follow right behind them. It's still pouring out, but none of the guys seems to notice, or care. As we get closer to the lot, the sirens become louder, heading towards us. I have the feeling in the pit of my stomach that this isn't going to end well.

Everyone comes to a stop at the same time. Us, the cops, Dally. Dally is standing under a streetlight, facing off with the cops. He pulls out a gun, and my heart stops. This is it.

Someone screams as the cops start shooting at him.

He falls to the ground, but even then the cops continue shooting.

Someone grabs my arm, bringing me back to reality. I realize it was me who screamed when the cops started shooting, and now I can't stop the tears openly running down my face.

Pony collapses onto the ground, bringing everyone back in motion. Soda and Darry work together, picking Pony up and presumably bringing him back to the house. But it feels like I'm stuck, staring at his body.

How did all of this happen?

"Catie, we need to get out of here," Steve says, wrapping his arm around my waist, and steering me back towards the house. Two-bit is walking between us and the brothers, seeming lost to the world.

As we get into the house it fully hits me, Dallas Winston is dead. He can no longer hurt me. I start sobbing now, mostly in relief that is is over. It's truly truly over.

It's over, I keep repeating it to myself. I never really thought there would be a time when Dallas wasn't bothering and cornering me. But it's over.

It's sick that I'm relieved that someone is dead. That two people are dead. How can I feel almost happy when two of our group are gone, forever.

I calm down a enough to look around the room at everyone else. I was on the couch with Steve, his arm was still wrapped around me. Soda was sitting on the floor, staring at his shoes with more concentration than I've ever seen from him. Two-bit was sitting next to him with his head in his hands. I can't see Darry or Pony anywhere.

I stand up, wiping away some of the tears. I feel everyone's eyes on me as I go to find Darry.

I head towards the back of the house, knowing that he is probably with Pony.

I find Darry not in Pony's room, but in our room. Pony was laying on the bed, with Darry sitting on the desk chair.

I walk over to Darry, standing next to him.

"What happened tonight?" Darry asks.

"I have no idea," I respond at a whisper. I don't think anyone could have predicted everything that happened this week. I look at the clock on the nightstand, it was just after eleven o'clock. Not even a week since Pony and Darry first got in that fight.

"Is he okay?" I asks, looking at Pony stir in his sleep.

"I don't know, I didn't see much of him at the rumble," Darry tells me.

"Let's try and see what happened," I say, grabbing Darry's hand pulling him up. We head back to the living room with the rest of the guys. Darry sits down in the arm chair, while I sit on the floor in front of him, leaning back on his legs. Everyone else is watching us. That's the problem with being the oldest of the group, they all expected us to have the answer, even though we are barely older than them.

"Did anyone see Pony during the rumble? Do we know how bad off he is?" I ask for Darry. There a long pause where everyone gets lost in their own thoughts.

"I saw him under a dog pile," Two volunteers, his voice void of the usual humor.

"He was getting kicked pretty good by some socs, they got his back and head I think," Steve pitches in. The room falls silent again, everyone lost in their heads.

Johnny and Dallas were both dead. A true monster was gone, but why did it take someone else dying? And why Johnny? Johnny was so sweet and quiet, he didn't deserve this.

I can't imagine what the guys are thinking? Especially Pony. Pony and Johnny were like a quieter version of Steve and Soda. Pony relied on Johnny, and looked up to him too I think. The other guys didn't really give the time of day to Pony, with him being younger and all. But Johnny did.

It's quiet for a long time, long enough for Soda and I both to get fidgety. We were both the same like that. Darry and Steve could sit focused on one thing for what seems like forever, but I got bored, and jittery. Soda is the same way.

It's like we all have another half in the gang. Darry and I, Steve and Soda, Pony and Johnny. Two-bit was really the free floater of the gang.

I stand up and it seems that all eyes are on me.

"I'm going to go and check on Pony," I manage to say, the words feeling heavy.

No one response, so I go back into Darry's room. Pony is tossing and turning, not really staying put. I sit on the edge of the bed and lean over to feel his temperature. He is burning up. Enough to be worrisome. I look in the bathroom for a thermometer, finding one shoved behind some mostly empty jars of hair grease.

I bring it back to the bedroom and take Pony's temperature. It's about 104.7°. That's high enough to go to the hospital, I think.

I look into the living room, and everyone is still enough that it could be a picture.

Maybe I should just take Pony to the hospital myself. I grab the keys to the truck and put them in my pocket.

"Catie?" Soda asks.

"Hmmm," I hum, going into the living.

"Why do you have the keys to the truck?" Soda asks, sounding nervous.

"I think Pony should go to the hospital," I say slowly, chewing on my lower lip.

"What's wrong Catie?" Darry asks, sitting up.

"He has a fever, it's around 105°, I really think we should take him to the hospital," I explain.

"I can take him," Darry says, "Give me the keys."

"I don't think that's the best idea," I didn't want to say that Darry, or any of them for that matter, should be driving, but it was true.

"And why not?" Darry says, standing up. This wasn't going well at all.

"I don't think any of you should be driving, not after everything that happened."

"And you're in better shape than the rest of us? Really?" Darry asks.

"I didn't get in a fight earlier tonight," I point out.

"What does that matter?"

"Darry, I'm driving, that's the end of this," I say, cutting this off before it becomes a full fledged fight. "I just need one of you to help me get Pony to the truck."

"I can help," Soda says, standing up.

"No, I'm going with her."

"I never said you weren't. You just aren't driving."

"Not all of us will fit in the truck, and you can't lift Pony with your shoulder," Soda says.

"I'm not letting you three run off alone," Darry argues.

"What do you think is going to happen? I'm going to steal your brothers and runoff to Mexico? Soda's going to hijack the truck, ditch me and Pony on the side of the road? It's a fifteen minute drive to the hospital, nothing is going to happen. You three can rest up, and meet us there in a few hours. Chances are we are going to just be sitting there waiting, and there is no point of everyone being there."

"But Catie,"

"No," I cut Darry off. "This is what is going to happen. Soda and I are going to take Pony to the hospital. Once Two-bit, and yes Two-bit, neither you or Steve are in any condition to drive. Once Two-bit feels up to it, preferably in a few hours, he will drive the rest of y'all to meet us."

No one argues, so I continue on with getting Pony and Soda out of the house.

I go back to our room, and start trying to get Pony awake.

"Pony, c'mon baby, you need to wake up," I say softly, shaking his shoulder. He groans in response, but doesn't open his eyes. "C'mon honey, just sit up for me, okay baby?" With enough coxing Pony sits up, but he still seems pretty out of it. Soda comes over and puts his arm around Pony, pulling him up. Soda brings his brother out to the truck, while I follow behind.

"Catie," Darry says, catching my arm before I can get out the door. "Please, just be careful."

"I know. I will," I tell him, wrapping my arms around him in a brief hug before heading out to the truck. Soda is waiting in the passenger seat, with Pony in the middle, leaning heavily on Soda. I climb up into the truck, looking at Soda before starting the engine.

"He's going to be okay, right Catie? He has to be okay," Soda asks, worried.

"I'm sure the doctors will know what to do," I reassure him, but I'm not sure who I'm trying to convince, Soda or myself. I pull out of the driveway, and head towards the hospital.

 **A/N Did you survive? If you did you should favorite, follow and leave a review. Also I'm going to apologies here for the lack of Johnnycake in this story. He just didn't fit in. Hope y'all can forgive me.**


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